Glitter
by angelcutepie
Summary: When dawn's rich mother dies, she is forced to live a new lifestlye after moving in with her aunt who can barely support herself. Dawn is in the best high school with her friend May. What happens when they fall for the same boy? Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: Haha, I'm on the bus and updating this xD lol. Well, here is the FIRST official chapter of the story ^_^ Hope you all enjoy! It took forever to do x_x. By the way, I think some of the parts drag on.. but it's supposed to :) so don't skip it if you get too bored. Okay? Alright, because the first part of this chapter is important. Tells about Dawn's life, kinda. You'll see xD lol, then its just goes from there...**

**Oh yeah, some of you think that Dawn and May will fall for Ash? No~, completely wrong! Lol, geesh I made Ash and May brother and sister -.- You'll see in this chapter who the boy is ;) And Dawn wasn't the one who caught herpes.. it was the other girl. Hope that clears up the confusion. Now you can read :)**

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><p>I couldn't believe I was entering my first year in high school. West Kanto high school. Everyone in Kanto knew that West Kanto high was was the best and funnest school in the entire region. I remember when I first entered the high school my mom and stepfather wouldn't allow me to attend the public high school. When I was in middle school they sent me to a private school for reasons unknown to me. For my freshman year I was able to convince them that they could save a lot of money by allowing me to attend a public school.<p>

Of course my greedy stepfather was happy to oblige. That meant that it was more money left for him to spend. I wasn't even a few months into the school year when they separated. I already knew that he was with my mother for the money when she first brought him home one day for me to meet him, but it took my mom a while to figure it out. But who cared? As long as I was able to attend West Kanto high school for my years of high school, I was fine.

On the first day there, I couldn't belive that I was finally stepping a foot inside of it. I wanted to go to West Kanto ever since I was in sixth grade. Everyone knew that it was the school where all the cute boys went and all the drama starting girls went. All of the boys were too cool for school, and some highly recognized as athletes.

I remember it as if it was yesterday. I couldn't believe that I had finally arrived, and as I stepped off of the school bus, I looked up at my new school with a smile on my face. I had just turned sixteen. I couldn't help but feel nervous and very excited. That same feeling still existed now that I was seventeen.

The past couple of months of my life had been hard, very hard. I had lost my mother. She was killed while she was at grocery store. Burglars had came and raided the store and shot whoever was in their path, and my mother was one of them. I was sent to live with my aunt. She didn't live too far from me and my mom's old house. I guess it's safe to say that my life had changed ever since I moved in with my aunt.

My mom had her own clothing line. Her clothes were sold all over the world, in all of the regions, so we were very rich. There was never a time when I wanted for anything, when she was alive, I was always given what I wanted. I missed her, a lot, and the lifestyle she had provided for me. My aunt joy was nice and I loved her, but she struggled as a nurse and could barely make enough money to take care of herself, let alone me. I was forced to adjust to a more meager way of living.

At first, when my aunt took me in, I think she thought I had a little bit of money from my mom.. but that wasn't the case. My mom, actually, owed a lot of money back in taxes. The IRS pretty much owned everything we thought was my mother's, right down to the casket they buried her in. Even my car, that had been a sweet sixteen birthday present from my mother, belonged to the IRS too. I wish I'd known how bad things really were for my father, but being her little girl, she never let on about her money problems. She continued to give me all that ny heart desired until the day she died.

I missed my mom terribly and there were some days when I would do nothing but cry. For some reason, going back to school to hang out with my friends was uplifting. It had been a long time since I felt good and happy about anything. For some reason, I was convinced that this high school year was going to be better then any other year I already completed. I hoped the new experiences would help me forget all of my troubles.

I didn't have as much of the cutest clothes like I did in the past, when my mother was here. I still had most of my clothes, but they weren't the latest fashions, and anyone who stayed on top of the fashions would know that. But I was still determined to be 'That girl'. The girl that attracted all of the boys. The girl that everyone knew and liked. I wanted to be her.

But, I always had that eye catching look, from all the boys. My skin was a creamy color, just slightly pale. My dark blue hair was long and beautiful while my, light blue, eyes were as bright as my perfect smile. I always had the nice clothes, thanks to my friend May.

May and I had been friends for five years now, but it wasn't until recently that I gave her the title of my 'best friend.' May was a year younger than me. She had just turned fifteen. But I loved her like she was sister to me.

Whenever I wanted freedom, not that my aunt was strict or anything, but it was May's house that I would go to. I loved to go to her house because she never had any rules over at her house. Her parents didn't care what she did as long as she didn't get carried away with anyway, which never happened. So we could do what we wanted, when we wanted.

She had two brothers. Max was eleven years old, he was the youngest. Ash, was eighteen years old. Her brother, Ash was so~ cute! Whenever he smiled or winked at me, I literally just melted inside. I always had a crush on him, but I knew I couldn't go after him because I thought he was a little too old for me. And plus I can't date my best friend's brother.

"Dawn, I can't belive that I'm finally here!" May said excitedly. "West Kanto high!" She smiled and pulled her schedule out of her book bag. "And can you believe that we have a class together?"

"I know!" I squealed. "You're pretty smart to be taking geometry in ninth grade." I said as we moved through the sea of people that cluttered the halls. Some were standing around catching up with their friends they hadn't seen the whole summer, and others were trying to locate their home rooms.

I finally helped May find her home room. "I'll see you later at lunch, May." I pulled out my schedule and took a look at it. "Do you have sixth lunch?" May checked the paper in her hands before confirming that she did have the same lunch shift as me. "Yes! Alright, I'll see you later then." With that said and done, I headed to my own home room where I bumped into a girl named Daisy who I recognized from last year. We entered the classroom laughing and talking to one another.

"Ladies, quiet down please and have a seat." The teacher said. We both stopped and turned around to the voice to see an older man sitting behind a desk that was in the front of the class.

"It looks like he's going to be a lot of fun." Daisy whispered sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, causing me to giggle. We found seats in the back of the class, since most of the seats were taken in the front and middle, but we didn't mind being in the back at all.

All of the students talked quietly amongst themselves as we watched last minute stragglers walk into the room before the late bell rung. Since the man behind the desk hadn't started class yet, chatter continued around the room. If it was middle school, then the teacher would never have allowed so much talking to go on, so the fact that high school meant more freedom made me love it even more.

The talking stopped once a woman, in a nice red skirt suit, walked into the room. She was about average height, a little pale skin, long brown hair, and brown eyes. She looked as if she could have been someone's older sister. She looked much to young to be a teacher, yet the school badge that she wore identified her as a staff member.

"Hello students, can I please have your attention?" She asked loudly enough for us to hear her, but quietly enough to keep her ladylike status on point.

We all looked up and stopped speaking as the woman stood confidently in front of us. "My name is Ms. Ketchum and I am the new high school guidance counselor here at West Kanto high school. Every year the guidance counselors like to take a minute to visit the home room classes and welcome the students into the school. I am here to extend that welcome."

I watched her stand in front of the class. She was pretty, very pretty and her smile was polite and sincere. She had my full attention as she continued.

"I'd like to welcome back the returning students as well as those who are new to the school. Since I'm new myself, I don't recognize any of you, but I'd love to get to know you all. So feel free to stop by my office any time just to introduce yourselves to me, have lunch with me, talk, etc..."

Her invitation seemed genuine, and by the looks on some of the faces around me, some would just take Ms. Ketchum up on her offer.

"I know that dealing with high school and all that comes along with it can be sometimes overwhelming. There are a lot of things that can distract you from your education. Some of these things are peer pressure, drugs, sex.."

Some students in the class giggled at the mention of sex and made side jokes about it before she raised her hand to grab our attention again. "Okay guys, listen up. I want you all to know that my door is always open to you. If you ever need to talk about anything, know that I've been there, done that and can probably give you some good advice."

"You look like you're in high school yourself!" A boy called out. The class giggled as Ms. Ketchum blushed and smiled.

Ms. Ketchum went on to tell us her age and how she'd graduated from high school early, then went to college to study education and psychology. We were convinced that no matter how young she was, she was definitely qualified to be in the position that she was in.

"Don't be afraid to come to me if you have a problem and even if you aren't having any problems." Ms. Ketchum told us. "I would love for you to just drop into my office to say hi. I always have snacks and candy available too, so stop by to see me sometime. Again, welcome to your junior year at West Kanto High School. I look forward to working with you guys and helping you out in the year ahead. Those of you who are new to the school, like myself, alright fresh meat." She joked with a flattering smile. "Pay attention to Mr. Reiner here." She pointed to the old man behind the desk, "and cut out all the talking that was going on when I walked in." She gave us a wink. "Bye." She waved as she left the room

"Bye!" The class said in unison.

"She was nice." I turned to face Daisy who had taken a seat behind me. She had her head down on the top of her desk and had began to drift off to sleep. I smirked and shook my head. It was only the first day and she was already sleeping in class. She had always been that way though. Then again.. she was a little dumb in the head. Mr. Reiner, my first block teacher, had finally stood up and began his lesson. I opened my notebook and paid attention.

I made it through my first class, and so far, nothing seemed so different this year of school than any other year at any other school.

"Do you have your books for the next class?" I asked May as she walked up beside me, in the hallway.

"Yeah, I think I have them in my book bag." She said as she began comparing her schedule to the books she had in her bag.

"If you need to get your books out of your locker, I'll walk with you and then show you where your next class is." I stated. She nodded her head and smiled.

"Thanks, because I think I forgot one." We walked along the halls until we reached a row of lockers. I leaned against one, while she was at hers and retrieved the books out her locker.

That was when I saw him, Paul Shinji. He was so cute! More like handsome or sexy. His purple hair flowed so lightly. And the way it framed his face made him even more appealing. His black eyes looked so hard, but I could see the love hidden in them. The sparkle from them almost made me faint. He was standing on the wall with a couple of his friends, and to my surprise he was staring my way.

I had never seen him before. I don't know if it was because he was new to the school or if I just hadn't paid him any attention. But I knew he had to be older than me, much older. He had a very mature look. He either started school late, or he'd failed classes and was a career high school student. Either way, he was still cute and had my attention.

I blushed, and forced myself to turn around so I couldn't see him. I had almost forgotten that May was standing beside me. For a moment I felt like I was in a high school movie where everything is in slow motion, where all the voices fade out and it's just the lead girl and guy standing in the hall. I was hoping May didn't notice the small scene.

"Are you ready?" I asked May after I cleared my throat.

She nodded and started walking. "Dawn, why is your face red? And why are you acting so shy all of a sudden?" She asked after she noticed the look on my face. She smirked as she looked around.

"Oh nothing. I'm just happy to be here at West Kanto, I guess." I told her, hoping that my answer would convince her.

"Mhm.. you could've fooled me." May said in a tone of disbelief.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Whatever, I'm not acting shy. I just don't wanna be late for class."

"I thought you said that you were just happy to be at-"

"Here we are." I said cutting her off, relieved that we were standing outside of her next class. "I'll see you at lunch, May." I hurried and walked away before she could say anything else. Hopefully by lunch she would have forgotten all about my behavior.

Unfortunately, I couldn't forget. Throughout the entire day, I found myself thinking about the boy's face. He was so cute, and each time I tried to focus on what was going on in the classroom, my mind just wandered back to him. I was sprung and didn't even know the boy's name.

Besides developing a new crush on a boy that I didn't even know, the first day was basically uneventful. At lunch time May and I pretty much spent the entire thirty minutes talking about our day so far.

When the final bell, of the day rang, I went to May's locker to meet up with her. She gave me a brief recap of her first day if school. Her day had been uneventful, except for her getting lost and ending up in the wrong class.

After listening to May tell me how embarrassed she was I assured her that it was okay. Afterwards, I told her I would see her the next day, since it was time to go home. I was halfway to the bus, when I realized that I left my purse and house keys in my locker. I checked my watch and saw that I had five minutes before the buses would began to leave. I didn't have much time, so I took off running, to the third floor.

When I arrived at my locker I quickly put in the combination. I snatched my purse off the metal hook and ran all the way outside. To my luck, the buses were pulling out of the parking lot. I jogged after my bus yelling, "Wait!" but stopped when I realized it was too late. I had missed my bus and it was at least an hour walk to get to my house. Now I was the one embarrassed. In the past, I had been been known as the girl to drive a car to school, that cost more then what a teacher got paid annually, and now here I was labeled as a bus rider. And I looked like a fool chasing after the bus as the kids on the bus pointed and laughed. That made it even worse.

This was not the right road to becoming 'That Girl' but with my clothes and class, I'm sure I could recover easily.

My aunt was at work, so I knew that she couldn't come get me. And since I didn't carry around the two hundred dollars, my mom used to give me as weekly allowance, I didn't have bus fair. Right now, I didn't have a choice but to walk home.

As I headed for home, I hung my head low. I didn't even want to look up and see who might spot me. It was weird because I felt like everyone who was still around, was watching me. The cheerleading team was outside practicing and the basketball players were lingering around outside waiting for their practice to begin. It was just my luck that Mr. Tall, cute, and popular was standing amongst the group that I had to walk past, to exit the school property. I was so nervous as I made my way past them.

"Is that a freshman? She don't look like one.. she looked older and better." I heard one of the boys shout as if I couldn't hear him, or maybe he just didn't care that I heard him.

"Yeah, she real cute!" I heard another one add.

"She's not a freshman!" A boy, who spoke for the first time said. "I remember her seeing her last year. You just might not recognize her because you could hardly see her face with her nose up in the air all the time." A few chuckles followed after his comment. He was calling me stuck up.

I was so self conscious that I stumbled on the cracked concrete and my book bag fell open, spilling some of the contents onto the ground. I closed my eyes as I heard the laughter of the guys. I, of course, didn't see what was so funny. As simple as it may have been, I was mortified and embarrassed. I bent down to retrieve my belongings as tears burned my eyes. Out of nowhere, the boy that I had noticed earlier kneeled down in front of me.

"You alright?" He asked with a smile as he helped me pick up my things. His voice was so deep, and so sexy. His smiled was so bright and beautiful. I could tell he wanted to join in on the laughter with his friends because he fought to keep the slight smirk on his face from cracking through.

"Go ahead, you can laugh." I said angrily. "You don't have to help me. I can pick up my own stuff." He chuckled a little bit.

"You've got to left feet." He said with a friendly smile. "It figures that somebody as pretty as you would to have a flaw. You were cursed with clumsiness." I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks, from his compliment.

I smiled and shook my head. I was so embarrassed. "I'm not clumsy! It was an accident." I snatched one of my folders from his hand and finally stood up, once I gathered myself.

"An accident, huh?" He looked me up and down. "Either that or you're just not used to walking." He smiled and started to chuckle again. I rolled my eyes as more blood rushed to me cheeks. I could feel that they were red.

He had that correct! I wasn't used to walking, not like this. Walking the school halls, looking cute? Yeah! Walking through the mall getting what I wanted? Yeah, that too! But walking to get from point A to B? Now that was a different story for someone to write.

"What's your name?" He asked me.

I was surprised as I looked up at his six foot frame. At five feet and five inches it felt like I was staring at a giant. "Dawn." I replied shyly. I didn't know whether to be flattered that he wanted to know my name, or pissed that he didn't already know who I was. Even his friends recognized me from last year.

"I'm Paul." He introduced. When he put his arm around my shoulder I thought I was going to die. That's when I heard the cheerleaders take notice.

"Ooh Giselle, it looks like that girl is flirting with your boyfriend!" I heard one girl shout.

"Where are we walking to Ms. Dawn?" He asked, ignoring the comment from the girl.

I knew if I had heard it, he had heard it too, but he didn't seem phased by it. So obviously, whoever Giselle was, she wasn't doing anything with her boyfriend, if in fact he was her boyfriend. At the rate I was going, he was about to be somebody else's boyfriend; mine.

I turned around to look at the group of mostly upper class senior girls who had stopped their practice to see what I was doing.

"I'm walking home, but you might want to go back to what you were doing. Giselle might get mad." I teased as I focused my attention back on him. He laughed.

"Giselle isn't my girlfriend. I'm fine right where I am." He replied. "I saw you looking at me earlier, to. Next time you should come speak to me." This made me giggle.

"What? I wasn't looking at you! If anything, you were looking at me." I said as I start to feel more comfortable around him. I had to counter him and hide the fact that I had been looking at him at May's locker.

"You're right." He said quickly with a smile.

His response surprised me. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he had been eyeing me in the hall. I liked that in a boy; honesty. Always the key to a good relationship.

"How far do you live from here?" He asked me.

"My house is about an hour away on foot. You don't have to walk me there. I know you have practice. Thanks for helping me with my stuff." I turned around to face him with a shy smile on my face. Lord knows I wanted Paul to walk me home. And I didn't want him to stop there...I wanted him to walk me down the aisle, while he was at it.

"I have a car. Do you want me to give you a ride to your house?" He asked as he pulled out his car keys. "I can take you quickly and be back in time for practice. I won't miss too much." He looked over his shoulder to his friends. "Plus, I'm the star of the team." He said with a cocky grin, that made me playfully roll my eyes.

"Thanks, but no thanks. My aunt will get mad if she saw me get out of the car with the boy. Especially after the speech she gave me this morning." I answered truthfully.

He started to laugh. "How old are you?" Fourteen? Fifteen?"

"I'm old enough." I said in a flirtatious tone. "But, if you want me to be fifteen...then fifteen it is." He looked at me skeptically and then turned me around and replied.

"I don't know, you just may be, but you have a log going on to be just fifteen." I knew he was looking at my body.

"Are you always that blunt?" I asked.

"Do you always lie about your age?" He shot back. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips.

"I didn't lie. I said I'd be whatever age you wanted me to be. I mean, your friend thought I was a freshman. So if you like young girls then I guess that's what I have to be." I winked at him and smiled, making a little red appear on his face. I needed Paul to know that he met his match in me. "Especially if it makes you feel that you're grown up." I added, while giggling.

"Sixteen isn't grown." He replied. "So even if you were fourteen, I'd still have two more years to make you my girlfriend before it's against the law. So stop playing, and tell me how old you are." I smiled and started walking backwards towards my house.

"I better get going. I have a long way to walk, so I'll talk to you later." I gave him one last flirty look and walked away.

"Okay, Dawn! I'll see you later." He jogged back over to his friends while I continued to head home.

I couldn't believe that I had just had a conversation with this boy who had my mind in a daze all day. I know him being a year younger than me doesn't mean much in the real world, but in high school it's like dog years. Of course, if our ages had been reversed it would have been different because it was better if the guy was older than the girl. I couldn't wait to get home so I could tell May. She was on my must call list. I just had to tell her about Paul.

Now that I finally met him, I was even more attracted to him. I no longer cared that I had to walk home, because if I had made my bus, I would have never bumped into Paul. I guess people are right when they say, 'Everything does happen for a reason'. I quickly finished the three mile stroll.

I smiled as I thought of the gossip that would be all over school by the morning. I Had heard the jealousy in the cheerleader's voices when they seen me and Paul together, so I knew that I was taking someone's boyfriend. From the sounds of it, it was the girl named Giselle.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: So this was the first official chapter :) How was it, huh? Please let me know in a review :). It's just getting started so... please, please excuse me if it was kinda boring. I had to fill you in first lol. But can you tell that Dawn is somewhat snobby? If so, then that's a good thing...well for this story. That's how I wanted her ;). And everyone I PROMISE this is NOT a Ikarishipping story. So, please don't leave me :. It will be some stuff going on between them...but it's not a Ikarishipping story. I don't like that shipping. Now, if you want me to.. if you want to see more pearlshipping(Since pearlshipping won't come for quite a few chapters) I could just make Ash be 'Paul'. But the only thing about that is that, you're not gonna like him later. That's why I chose Paul for that part ;). And if I use Ash now.. then Paul will be.. *cough* lol I think you already know. Do you? Well, anyways just tell me what you would like for me to do :) I don't mind changing up those two..but like I said you're not gonna like Ash, in the story, if he does take Paul's part. Just saying! So it's totally up to you all, you can tell me what you would like to happen. So with that said.. (: that's all for now :D**

**Read and Review please everyone :) I give out Cyber cookies! And they're pretty darn good xD lol. Update this weekend :)**

**-Angel.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Hello :D Thank you for everyone that has reviewed ^_^ Glad that many of you are enjoying the story so far :) Oh by the way this story is only 8-10 chapters long :p but it's still going to be good :D So no worries. Hm.. this chapter isn't much.. but it is something ;)**

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><p>"YOU TALKED TO WHO?" May shouted into the phone.<p>

"Paul." I responded as if it was no big deal.

"You're lying!" She accused. I could practically hear her smiling through the phone, she was so excited.

"I promise." I said with a smile.

"In all of my classes someone mentions his name. They say that he's a really good basketball player for the West Kanto basketball team. They're predicting that he's gonna go pro one day. You do know that he's NOT a senior right? These girls, at school, know that he's gonna be rich someday so they're trying to be his sweetheart now so they don't look like gold diggers..." May went on and on about him and what she heard. I was only half listening until she asked me a question that caught my attention. "What did he say to you? Did he mention me?" She asked.

I had to stop her right there."Mention you? Why would he mention you?"

"You know I think he's cute. I told you I was trying to date the most popular boy in school this year and he is it." May said. "Can you imagine if I, a freshman, dated Paul. Ooh~ all the girls would be so jealous." I frowned.

I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She was trying to claim Paul for herself, before I got the chance to do it so that he would be off limits to me. Everyone knows that you can't date any boy your best friend is interested in; it did not matter if the guy didn't even know the girl existed. If May liked Paul, then I couldn't, and because she had voiced her interest in him first, he was technically hers.

"Since when do you like him? You have never mentioned anything about him before!" I stated trying to hide the fact that I was mad a little that she called dibs on a boy that I had talked to first. "And I know you saw that little eye contact he and I had by your locker this morning."

"Dawn, what are you talking about? I didn't notice Paul! I must have been too busy at my locker, because had I noticed him, I would have gone over and spoke to him."

"Oh~, so you're so bold all of a sudden?" I asked. "So, you think you can just spot a cute guy you think you might like, go walk up to him, and start talking to him out of the blue?"

"What do you mean out of the blue? I've always liked him. Even when we were in middle school, but he was too old for me back then. Now I'm in high school and he's just my type. I think I'm going to talk to him tomorrow." She said confidently, oblivious to the fact that I was steaming on the inside.

"Whatever." I said rolling my eyes to the ceiling. The conversation with May was old and I was ready to hang up on her. Not once could I ever recall her mentioning having a crush on Paul. And I knew she saw us eyeballing each other that morning. I'd known May for a long time and she was always cool. I hope high school wasn't about to change her into a back stabber. Many good friendships had became a casualty of high school self-centered drama. I hoped May's and mines wouldn't be one of them.

"Hold on May, I think my aunt is calling me." I pulled the phone away from my ear. I knew my Aunt Joy wasn't due home any time soon, but still I yelled "Huh? Okay Aunt Joy! Here I come. Just give me one second!" I got back on the phone and said, "May, I have to call you back... my aunt needs me to help her with something."

"Okay, Dawn I will-"

_**Click!**_

I hung up before she could finish her sentence. I threw the cordless phone on my bed and logged onto my laptop, one of the last gifts my mother had gotten me before she died.

After a while I hopped up to start my chores before my aunt really did get home. I wasn't trying to hear her fuss if I didn't do them. She was always hollering about responsibility and taking initiative now that I was older, so to avoid another lecture, I began to wash the dishes. It didn't take me very long since I had the radio playing, pretty loud. By the time the a fourth song ended, I was finished. Five minutes later my aunt walked through the door, wearing colorful hospital scrubs and looking exhausted.

"Dawn, why is the radio so loud? Turn it down!" She fussed. It never failed; she always had something to say. I think my aunt was the only person in the world who could always find something to fuss about. If she died and went to heaven, she'd probably find something to complain about, there. Heck, if she died and went to hell, she'd probably even get on the devil's nerves.

"Hey Aunt Joy." I said as I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How was work?" You'd think I'd learn to stop asking that question by now, but for some reason out of habit I did it every day she came home.

"Don't worry about my job, Dawn. As long as I have one and is taking care of your little spoiled behind, that's all you need to know. Just enjoy being a kid." She said as she flopped down on our worn out couch. "Because pretty soon, you're going to have to work just as hard as me to make money." She flopped down on the couch and exhaled as she removed her shoes. "How was school?"

"It was okay." I said as I was instantly reminded of May stealing my wannabe crush.

"Just okay?" She asked. "I hear you and your friend talking about school all the time and it was just okay? Come on, you can do better than that. It was your first day back at high school, new friends, new teachers... humor me with some details. I need some laughter after a long day."

"Well.." I started as I got starry eyed and sat down in the chair across from her. "The most popular boy in school talked to me today." I admitted with a smile.

"A boy?" My aunt repeated as if she had heard me wrong. Her eyes scanned me up and down. "Did you not hear a word I said this morning?"

"Ugh~!" I said as I stood up, forgetting that I was talking to the wrong person about how my day had really gone.

My aunt looked at me up and down again. "And did you wear that little skirt to school? No wonder the most popular boy in school talked to you. He must be trying to make you the most popular girl, and not in a good way. Hm.. wearing that short little skirt, I'm surprised every boy in the school didn't talk to you."

I sighed, wishing that this conversation had never taken place.

"Answer my question, Dawn." My aunt said as I folded my arms. "Did you wear that to school?

I wasn't trying to be disrespectful by not answering her. It's just that she had been talking so much that I really didn't think she had wanted me to answer. I nodded and looked down at my outfit. "Yes, I wore this. Why? It's not too sho-" Before I could even get a chance to tell her that it wasn't too short, she cut me off and started going on and on again.

"Like I said, no wonder he talked to you today." She looked at my outfit again. "I can't believe I didn't catch that this morning. I've told you about wearing little skirts and tight pants." She shook her head. "I can't believe my sister used to let you dress like that. Your clothes send the wrong message to these horny, hard headed little boys. That boy probably talked to you because you put yourself out there for him. You are not grown, so don't come in my house talking about boys. You need to stay focused on your school work, because I can barely take care of you let alone a baby. I'm only forty and I'm too young to be a great auntie." She preached.

"Baby? Who said anything about a baby? See aunt Joy, this is why I won't talk to you now. Nobody said anything about having sex. I only said I talked to a boy. I doubt I will bring you a grandchild by just talking. I've never known anyone getting pregnant by having a conversation." I stated smartly. She was getting on my nerves and she had only been home for a few minutes. She thought I was stupid and I hated when she treated me like a child. I was old enough to take care of myself and I definitely wasn't thinking about having any babies.

"Dawn, you're not getting smart with me are you? You heard what I said! I don't want you talking to any boys. Is that clear?" She said in a warning tone.

"Yes ma'am." I answered in a deflated tone, knowing that there was no way I could possibly go up against her and win.

"Go do your homework while I fix dinner, it will be ready in a couple of hours." She said, her monotone voice revealing her fatigue.

I nodded and walked to my room. I looked back at my aunt who leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes, while she rubbed her temples. Bright skinned, with dark blue hair, and petite features, she was a beautiful woman, but she looked ten years older than what she actually was. Someone would think she raised a lot of children because of how she appeared.

Looking at her, I kind of knew why she hadn't had the idea of taking me in with open arms. She seemed to work so hard, but yet had so little. The last thing I would ever dream of doing is to add to that.

Forget about adding another burden onto my auntie, what made her think I would want to add that kind of burden to myself? I didn't know why she thought I was trying to bring a baby home. I wasn't her. I had seen enough struggle watching her do it the short time I had lived with her, and the bad part about it was that she didn't do a very good job, because her own daughter ended up strung out.

That's right, my aunt knows a little something about being a mother. Her daughter ended up dying while she tried to give birth to a baby, before she turned eighteen. Sadly, the baby didn't make it either. That was not something I wanted for myself. I knew that my aunt didn't want that for me either, which was probably why she stayed on top of me the way she did. I understood the fact that she only wanted what was best for me, but sometimes she was on me too much. This just made me want to do things my way even more.

I knew that my Aunt Joy loved me. She was a really good aunt to me and I loved her for taking me in while I had nowhere else to turn. Although she only came around enough times for me to count on one hand while I was growing up, she was there for me when I needed her to be. If it wasn't for her, I would have been a ward of the state after my mother had been killed. Fortunately, she stepped up without thinking twice. Okay, maybe she did think twice, but at the end of the day she took me in, and that's all that matters.

I appreciated how even though my aunt didn't have the kind of money like my mother had, when it came to shopping for school clothes, she tried her hardest to keep me up to date with the latest fashions. Sometimes she worked eighteen hour shifts as a nurse in the emergency room just to be able to buy me new clothes. I think she tried to compensate the fact that I had lost my mother by buying me things. Even though it didn't make the pain go away, I appreciated her for trying.

Auntie Joy was working really hard to try to finish off what my mother had started by raising me, and although sometimes she could be a pain in the butt, I loved her for taking care of me. When she took me in, I knew in sense that she was giving up her life so that she could make sure mine was up to par. I was lucky. Not a lot of young girls had women to look up to like I did, so I guess I couldn't complain too much.

Once I got up to my bedroom, I lay across my bed and opened up my history book to study. I didn't get very far before my mind drifted from what was in front of me to the words that had been spoken to me earlier that afternoon...

_"I still have two years to make you my girlfriend."_

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: So that was the chapter :) uh oh.. May likes Paul? O_o ahahaha :p What does this mean? Hm.. ;) I'm not telling you :p. Not much to say today :) Update for this chapter next weekend ^_^ Oh yeah, I think you guys will like the next chapter ;) and NO Ash won't be in that chapter yet xD lol. I know someone is thinking that :p..but hold your horses :) he's coming.<strong>

**-Angel**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: Hello EVERYONE :D ahh~ it's been a week already, huh? :) Well, not much to say right not xD lol. But you guys will really like this chapter ;). This is my favorite chapter so far. It took all week -_- but definitely worth it. :) Hehe, enjoy...**

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><p>Remembering Paul's words made me smile to myself. But remembering May's words also wiped the smile off my face. <em>'Too bad I can't have him.'<em> I thought. I didn't know this boy, so maybe I should just cut my losses now and erase him from my memory, giving May full rights to go after him since she called dibs on him first. Yeah, it was true that she called dibs after he had already showed an interest in me, but that's what I get for trying to play cool and not just express how I felt when I first saw him in the hall.

I refocused, finished studying, and spent the rest of the night with my aunt. We ate a late dinner together just like we did every night. I couldn't boil a hotdog, so I always had to wait for my aunt to get home and make dinner. I never learned how to cook, since my mom used to cook for me all the time. She wouldn't let me lay a hand on the stove. I made a mental note to sign up for home economics next semester so that I could surprise my aunt one day by making dinner.

My aunt was big on spending quality time. I'm not one hundred percent, but I think it was just her way of keeping her eyes on me. So even though she worked most of the time, she made sure that we sat down like a family at dinnertime. Had we been a little closer, then I think that would have been time for me to share with her what was going on in my teenage life. But with the way Aunt Joy reacted to everything, I didn't want to tell her anything.

When I first came to live here, I used to feel like I could talk to her about anything during our family time. I didn't hesitate to let her know how much it hurt to no longer have a mother or father. But over time, it seemed like the more the grief wore off and I was able to start being myself again, the less compassionate my aunt started to show. At first I appeared to be this shy, quiet teenager, but then once the real me shined through, the real Aunt Joy was there to rain on my parade before I could even think about pulling out an umbrella.

Ever since I started hanging back out with May, again, and being a regular teenager, my aunt has been on me a lot more. It seems like every other sentence out of her mouth was about boys and staying on track or avoiding the possible pitfalls that my high school years could bring. This night at dinner was no different. I quickly tuned her out.

I don't know why grown-ups haven't realized that the more they tell us not to do something, the more we want to do it. Teenagers don't really need a good reason to be rebel. Most of the time, we do adult things because we think we're ready to handle them. Actually we aren't, but preaching us about it won't stop us from making mistakes.

I finished eating then excused myself to my room for the night. Of course, I could hardly sleep with thoughts of Paul on my mind.

The next day, I made sure I was extra cute. I wore jean low rise Capri pants, a pink shirt that hangs off one shoulder, and silver flips flops. My toes were painted with the French manicure tips. My hair was pulled up into a pony tail with a few spiral curled strands hanging on the sides. I was confident as I got off the bus and headed towards the school building. I met May at the entrance.

"Hey Dawn, you look cute today." She said as she observed my outfit.

"Thanks May." I replied. I had completely forgotten that I had been mad at her the day before. We were good friends like that, I guess. We had an on again and off again type of friendship. We had been mad at each other so many times, that I lost count, but we always managed to get passed it no matter what.

We walked into the building together and we had at least fifteen minutes before our first class began. Breakfast was being served, and even though we had no intentions on eating, we headed towards the cafeteria anyways just to hang out.

When we walked into the cafeteria, it seemed like all heads turned our way. It was like a scene from out of a movie when the most popular girls would enter into school and everyone stopped what they were doing just to look their way and admire them as they walked by. Suddenly, all of my confidence flew out of the window. I don't know why, but for some reason I began doubting my choice of clothing for the day. What I once thought to be the perfect outfit, now felt too small. I looked down at myself and began to tug at my clothes uncomfortably.

"What is everybody looking at?" I whispered as we found our way to a table, off in the corner.

As we passed by the cheerleaders table, I heard giggling that only stemmed from an inside joke. I ignored them and saw down at the table. Once I sat down, the girls giggled again, but this time I was let in on the joke when I heard someone say, "She used to think she was so fabulous, but now she's likes Cinderella after the clock strikes midnight. Her fancy coach must have turned into a pumpkin, because now she's catching the bus to school." I could feel humiliation flushing over me as I forced to keep it from showing on my face.

"What was that about?" May asked as she frowned and looked over at the cheerleaders.

I shrugged. "I don't know. They're probably just jealous because they saw me talking to Paul yesterday and I guess the girl with her hair down likes him. I think they said her name was Giselle." I explained.

May waved her hand in dismissal. "I don't know why they're jealous of you. You're not the one who likes Paul, I am. She should be worried about me taking Paul from her."

I rolled my eyes. All of this was just too much, and it was only the second day of school. "I don't think she's his girlfriend. At least he said she wasn't." I added.

"Even if she was, it wouldn't matter." She replied. "She can't compete with all of this." May said as she ran her hands down her side and smiled.

The last time I checked, May hadn't been this confident or this worried about boys. I guess whatever it is they put in high school water, she'd already taken a sip and got drunk off of it.

May and I sat conversing with each other for the next couple of minutes, and eventually the cheerleaders found something else to talk about as well. I had completely forgotten about the entire Paul dilemma that was brewing between me, the cheerleaders, and May. That was until Paul caught my attention as he entered the cafeteria with a couple of his friends walking with him.

It was like as soon as he walked into the cafeteria, nobody else was in the room but me and him. He didn't notice me of course, but I peeped everything about him. Tiny butterflies danced around in my stomach, and May's words began to sound like that character from Charlie Brown

_**WOMP WOMP WOMP**_

That was all I heard, because I was too busy daydreaming about my crush. The ringing of the warning bell snapped me out of my trance. I stood up and grabbed my book bag. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready." May replied then stood up. That's when she noticed Paul as well.

She pulled out a lollipop from her purse and put it in her mouth. She wasn't slick being slick, I knew what she was trying to do. She was trying her hardest to look cute because we had to walk past Paul and his group of friends just to get to class.

It's crazy how something as small as walking past a boy can be the most exciting moment of a teenage girl's day. I was anxious to see what would happen when we walked past him. Paul had obviously flirted with me the day before, but he could have just been being nice. Besides, he had talked to me after school when there were few people around. Now the entire school was congregated in the commons, so he might not even acknowledge me.

I was so nervous that I held my breath as I followed May out of the room. I kept my eyes towards the floor as if I did not see him standing to my left. He was leaning on a wall with one foot propped up against it and his book bag slung over one shoulder.

Right as I passed him, I felt a soft touch brushing against my arm. I looked down and allowed my eyes to concentrate on the hand, then the wrist, and then the arm of the person who was gripping my elbow. Paul had reached out and grabbed my elbow to get my attention. I stopped walking and turned around to face him.

"What's up young one?" He greeted with a wink as he pulled me near him.

"Hey." I replied with a smile, acknowledging his and my little inside joke about me playing around with my age yesterday.

As people began to rush by us, we were reminded that we needed to get a move on it if we were going to be on time for class. Paul instantly cut to the chase.

"I need to get your number, Dawn. So whenever I'm thinking about you, I can just call you." He stated.

"I didn't know you were thinking about me." I replied as I shifted my weight to one leg and placed a manicured hand on my hip. Flirting with a boy, especially one that was younger than me, was new to me. I know he was only a younger than me, but still, as they say, girls mature more quickly than boys. Nonetheless, because I didn't have much experience flirting with boys, my flirting wasn't down yet. I was at a disadvantage because I wasn't quite able to recognize when or if Paul was running game on me.

"Yeah, you knew I was thinking about you, because you were thinking about me too." He answered with the sexiest smile I had ever seen. Well, not the sexiest because May's brother, Ash, held that in first place but Paul came in second, close to first. Paul was so cool. He never did too much, but was always relaxed and extra confident. His friends, and of course my biggest critic, Giselle, were standing around him watching out interaction closely.

"Mmmm, hmmm!"

I turned around when I heard May clear her throat. I had forgotten that May was standing right there. When I was reminded of her presence, I noticed her from the corner of my eye. For some reason I began to feel guilty, like I was pushing up on her boyfriend even though Paul had no clue that May liked him.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as May cut her eyes at me. "Paul, this is my friend May. May this is-"

"Paul Shinji." She finished my introduction for me. "I know exactly who you are. Remember we went to the same middle school? Besides that, I came to all your games last year. You play really good on the basketball court."

I could even tell May was lying about the last part. That girl knows she hadn't been to any of the West Kanto basketball games. But then again, she might have tagged along with her brother, Ash.

Paul frowned and looked at me before switching his gaze to May. "Nope, I don't think I remember you. But it's nice to meet you anyways, May." He looked her up and down. He had to be checking her out because May's body was hot. She had good curves, like me, and needless to say, she was pretty. She wouldn't have been my friend if she was ugly.

"You've seen me play, huh?" He asked May.

"Yeah, I've seen you." May had the biggest smile on her face as she began to stroke her lollipop with her tongue. "I want to try out for cheerleading so I could be your personal number one fan." She flirted. She was literally making me sick to my stomach the way she was throwing herself shamelessly at him. I looked at the clock and saw that I only had a few minutes to make it all the way to the third floor for my first hour class.

"Alright May," I said interrupting her conversation with Paul. "I'm about to go to my class. I don't wanna be late."

"Okay, Dawn." May replied distractedly. "I need to get to class too. I hope I can remember where it is." That was May's way of opening up the door for Paul to offer to walk her to her class.

Okay, now I didn't feel so bad about not really having good flirting skills. Because standing here watching May, I'd rather have no flirting skills than to have even a little bit of hers. I mean, I was embarrassed for the desperate girl. I just had to walk away ASAP!

"Hey Dawn, where you going?" Paul asked me as he pushed past May to get to me.

"What do you mean? I'm going to class." I said over my shoulder with an attitude. I don't know why I took out my frustrations on him. I was really mad with myself for allowing May to steal him from underneath my nose. She was my best friend. She was supposed to know when I liked a boy, and even if she liked him too, she was supposed to sacrifice for the sake of our friendship. I knew I was a hypocrite because the same thing I wanted from her, I should've been giving her. But even a blind man could see that Paul was trying to talk to me and could care less about her.

May was hot on Paul's. She followed him as he walked beside me.

"Wait I want to take you somewhere." He said to me. I stopped walking and faced him.

"Take me where?"

He looked over at May who was all in our business. "Technically, I shouldn't even be saying anything in front of your friend" He looked at May with disdain. "Because you're not supposed to know about it because you're only a freshman." He then turned back to face me. "But I want to take you to our ditch party." He stated.

"Ditch party?" May chimed in. "That sounds like fun."

Both Paul and I cut our eyes at her and then focused back on each other.

"I can't skip class, Paul. It's only been the second day of school. What is there to ditch? We haven't even begun work yet. I think I might have to pass." I said with a smile.

"Excuse me for a moment, Paul." May said as she pulled me a couple feet away. "Are you crazy?" She scolded me in a deep whisper.

"What?" I asked with my face all screwed up.

"Come on, Dawn." She pleaded. "You know I like this boy. Please let's just go to the ditch party with him."

"Well, since you like him so much, you can go. I'm not stopping you." I said as I crossed my arms.

"He didn't invited me, Dawn! He invited you." May threw her hands on her hips. "Are you blind or something? Can't you see that he really wants me there, but since I'm only a freshman he couldn't just come right out and invite me because freshman aren't even supposed to know. He knows you're my friend and that if he invited you, then I'd come with you. So technically he didn't tell a freshman." She began winking. "Get it?" She pulled on my arm and practically began begging. "Come on please!" She said as she then clasped her hands together. "I really want to be with him."

I couldn't believe this mess. Evidently somebody was blind, either me or May, because we were not watching the same scenario play out. That was for sure. "Fine, but you owe me." I shot back, giving into her request.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, best friend!" She smiled as she and I walked back over to Paul.

"I must really like you, because I never wait for anyone." He said.

I knew those words were meant for me, but obviously May thought she deserved them too.

"I guess you don't like me then, because you waited." She replied with a smile. "But trust me, you'll find out soon enough that it was definitely worth the wait. Now where is the party?" May had the nerve to link her arm through his.

He looked at her like she was crazy, then looked at me as if to say, "Is this girl serious?" But he just chuckled it off and didn't say anything as he walked with May. I guess he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

I followed behind the two of them trying my best not to burst out laughing. "Where are we going?" I asked as I noticed us going down a flight of steps that I didn't even know existed.

"This part of the school was sealed off about ten years ago after they built the new addition. Nobody comes down here anymore." Paul started.

"It's dark. I can't see anything." I said. The next thing I knew, Paul turned loose from May, and came to escort me by my arm.

"Be careful, Dawn." He called to me over his shoulder.

I knew May was steaming with jealousy. I could practically feel it coming off of her, but it served her right for coming onto him in the first place. There was already a little but of tension between the two of us and I could tell that this was only going to add more fuel to the fire.

We walked into an area with a group of kids, and I instantly noticed that May was the youngest one there.

"What are they doing here?" Giselle asked as she walked up to us, accompanied by her cheerleading girls, of course. She looked at me like I was the ugliest person on the face of the earth.

"They're here with me." He answered.

I guess that was enough of an answer, because she rolled her eyes and turned on her heels with an attitude. Her friends followed her, but before they walked off we heard one of them say, "I didn't know we were running a freaking day care." And of course they did their stupid giggles. May just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Yo, Drew?" We heard Paul say as he walked off. Now knowing what else to do, and not wanting to stand there looking stupid, we followed him.

Paul walked over to his friends. "May, this is my friend, Drew. Drew this is May. Show her a good time for me." He stated as he politely handed May over to Drew.

May's jaw hit the floor when Paul turned to me and put his arm around my shoulders then pulled me closer to him.

"Now that I got rid of your girl," He whispered in my ear. "You and me can chill with each other."

"Who said I wanted to hang with you?" I asked, trying to play hard to get.

"Whatever, you know you want to. Keep me company." He didn't have to ask me a third time. I fell right into the mix of being in his presence. We sat down and cuddled on a huge bean bag chair that was on the floor.

"Do you skip class all the time?" I asked him.

"Not all the time, just every Wednesday. We come down here to relax."

"And you mean to tell me that the teachers don't know about this?" I asked as I looked around.

"You didn't." Was his reply. I guess he told me.

Paul started playing with my hair and the attention he was showing me made me feel special. I silently relished in the jealous looks that Giselle and her friends were giving me. I obviously had what they wanted and that was Paul's spotlight. He was one hundred percent focused on me as we talked and laughed with each other. I was so carefree in discussing my life with him. At the moment he felt more like a best friend than a guy I was crushing on. I felt like I had known him forever, and the longer we were around each other, the more comfortable I became. The butterflies went away and I found myself stuttering less. I was opening up myself to him, allowing him to get to know the real Dawn, the real me.

The first hour passed by quickly. It had felt more like a few minutes. I just wanted time to stand still so that I could stay right there, in that moment, forever. I don't mean to sound all romancy, but keep in mind that this was the very first time that I had actually hung out with a boy. My past few years had been running around with a clique of females, one trying to outdo the next and compete with all the girls at the same time. But right now, I'd forgotten about all of that. That was until I looked up to find May stalked over me.

"I know it's been great for you being in La-La Land and all, but are you ready to go back to the real world?" May asked with much irritation as she shot me a glare.

I sat up but Paul pulled me back down. "What are you doing?" I said playfully, shooing his hands off of me. "I have to go to my second class." I said to him with my hand on his chest.

"No you don't, Dawn." He said, but more like begged. I could hear a pinch of whininess in his voice.

"Yes, I do. I don't want the school calling home telling my aunt that I wasn't in class." I said.

May tapped her foot impatiently. "Look, are you coming or not, Dawn?"

"She's staying here." Paul answered for me, not taking his eyes off of me the entire time. "You never get reported for your first class, so as long as you stay down here all day, the school won't call your house. They'll just think you were absent today."

"Dawn, don't let him get you in trouble. Last year, anytime I wasn't at school by third period they were calling my house." May said.

"Yeah, but that was because you were in middle school last year." Paul reminded her; bursting her Miss Know it All Bubble that had been floating over her head. "You re in high school now. They don't have to baby sit you here like they did last year." He looked at me to assure me that it wouldn't be a problem for me to hang out with him longer. "They'll just mark you absent today. They won't call your house until tomorrow, and that's only if you don't show up without a note explaining why you were absent today. Surely you know how your forge your aunt's signature." He then added, "Dang, girl, you never ditched class before?"

Actually, I hadn't, but I didn't want him to think that I was some stuck-up, goody-two-shoes...I was far from that. So instead of answering his last question I turned to May, smiled, and said, "I'm staying, May."

She shook her head and glared at me like I was her worst enemy in the world. "You are so out cold!" She stated before stalking off.

"What was that all about?" Paul asked.

"She likes you." I answered truthfully with a shrug of my shoulders. The shrug basically told him, 'My best friend likes you but I don't care.'

"But I like you." He said bluntly while looking into my eyes. I felt like my world was moving in slow motion when he reached over and kissed me. His lips were so~ soft. "Do you like me?"

"Your alright." I stated with a confident smirk once the shock of the kiss wore off.

"Then it seems like your friend should be happy for you. If she's jealous, then she doesn't seem like a good friend." He said.

I took his words to heart and thought that he had a point. May was jealous, but she was my best friend and I decided that I would just deal with her later.

As the basement eventually began to clear out, the people leaving included the cheerleaders. Giselle gave me and extra harsh look as she walked by slowly, but then she softened her facial expression when she looked over at Paul.

"Bye, Paul." Giselle put her hand up to her mouth and ear as if it was phone. "Call me later, okay?" She said, letting me know that he had her number.

She thought she was being slick or getting under my skin, but she was wrong. Obviously he wasn't worried about her because he was hugged up with me right in her face, so I smirked and replied, "I'll make sure I remind him before he hangs up with me. Bye now. I waved my fingers and gave her a fake smile.

She looked at Paul as if he was supposed to defend her. All he did was look back at her and say, "She said she'll remind me." He then turned his attention back to me.

Her friends snickered and she stormed off with her arms folded. That was two girls in the last few minutes that had stormed away at the sight of me and Paul together. One I knew for a fact Paul had no ties to. The other one was a different story that I felt I needed to get to the bottom of before things got more serious with this guy.

"But Giselle's not your girlfriend, huh?" I said sarcastically.

"Nope, I'm staring at my girlfriend right now." He responded sweetly while looking into my eyes.

I smiled. I could already see that he was going to have me wrapped around his finger. I smiled some more as I thought about going to homecoming and prom with him.

He leaned in again and we kissed for what felt like hours. That day in the basement we got to know each other more and I officially became his girlfriend...just like that. No dating, no first talking on the phone until wee hours in the night. It was just an instant connection that couldn't be denied.

I knew me having a boyfriend was going to be a problem with my aunt Joy, but Paul was a charmer. He seemed nice enough. After all, he didn't appear to have enemies, everyone liked him. And in my plight to be 'That Girl', I knew that just off the strength of his popularity, I would become the most popular girl at school. So basically, I was killing two birds with one stone. I was getting my perfect man, plus my popularity. That did not necessarily mean that I was going to be well liked, just well known.

Paul and I stayed down in the basement, talking, cuddling, and kissing until we heard the last school bell ring. I was so engrossed in him that I barely realized it was time to go. I didn't want to go just yet. I never thought I'd say it, but I could have stayed at school forever (as long as it was down in the basement with Paul).

"I've got to go." I said as I stood up and straightened out my clothes. "I have to hurry up and catch my bus home. I wouldn't want to miss it again, now would I?" I joked.

"Missing your bus wasn't actually a bad thing after all." Paul said as he stood up

"Hmm~.." I teased for a minute. "I guess not." Missing my bus had been fate. No telling if Paul and I would be together right now if I hadn't missed my bus.

"Let me take you home." He said.

"I told you, you can't" I replied.

"Doesn't your aunt work? Let me take you home. I promise I'll be gone before she gets there." He said.

I don't know if it was because of his charm or my own stupidity, but I agreed and the next thing I knew we were in his car and we were headed towards my house. Everybody in my school was surprised to see us together. The way that he held onto my hand let everyone know that we were an official couple. When we pulled up to my house I hurriedly got out of the car.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"No." I said. "You don't know my aunt. I can't take the chance. She could have the neighbors reporting to her for all I know."

"Just for a minute? I promise, I'll be out before the hour is even over." He promised with his hand on his heart. "Come on, Dawn, don't break my heart. The longer we stay out here is the less time we have to be in there." He convinced me just that easily.

"Come on." I invited as I back pedaled away from the car. "Park your car a couple of spaces down and come through the back door. We have some nosy neighbors."

He nodded and I went into the house. A couple of minutes later he was knocking at the back door. I answered it and he rushed in kissing me as he maneuvered his way inside. One would have that we hadn't just spent the entire day together. It was crazy how he was making me feel. It wasn't my first kiss. I had kissed a couple of boys before, but the feeling was nothing like this. This was much more intense and it made me feel grown up. _'This must be why my Auntie Joy is so afraid for me to experience sex. This feels so good_.' I thought as he kissed my neck. _'It can't feel much better than this._' When Paul tried to reach underneath my shirt, I snapped back to reality.

I grabbed his hands. "Stop." I whispered.

"Are you a virgin?" He asked. This boy did not beat around the bush, that's for sure.

"Yeah, I am." I replied in embarrassment. With any other guy I would have probably lied my butt off and just make them think that I didn't want to get down with them, but Paul wasn't just any other guy. He was a guy I really liked and I didn't want to hurt his feelings by making him think that I didn't want to be with him. I also didn't want him to think that I was just a tease, because, here I was all day long acting experienced and fast, when really I didn't know what I was doing. I did know that the situation was moving way too quickly for me. I had to slow down things with him a bit and make him move at my pace, but honestly I knew that I would not be able to keep him for long if I wasn't giving it up.

He sighed deeply, but didn't say anything.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"No, I'm not mad. I didn't know you were a virgin though." He said. "I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend"

"What?" I snapped. Just that quickly it was like the fairytale was over. The prince had turned into a road. "You act like that's a bad thing. At least I'm not like those other nasty girls."

"I know, Dawn, and I like you, but I'm too attracted to you. You're so sexy that when I'm around you, I can't stop myself from touching you." He said. I didn't know whether or not he was running game, but I ate it all up. I was actually flattered by what he was saying. "Are you saving yourself until you get married?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. I just haven't done it yet. I guess I haven't found the person I want to give it to yet." I admitted.

"What about me?" He asked me as he kissed my lips, confusing me and distracting me all at the same time.

"I mean I don't know you that well yet." I said trying my best to stay focused and not getting caught up in a web of words.

"You can get to know me. I know that I like you, but I want you to trust me enough to give me that. I want to be with you...all of you. You're special to me." He said. "Haven't I proven to you just how special you are to me?" He kissed me softly on the lips. "You wanna be my girl, right?"

"Yeah, I do." I said. Right about now, it was hard telling that I was the older of us two. I felt like a freshman girl infatuated by and older boy, kind of what May was probably feeling like. Only the boy really did like me just as much as I liked him.

I hadn't even officially been his girlfriend for a good twenty-four hours, and I didn't want my being a virgin to be the reason why he broke up with me so soon. That would definitely hurt my reputation. So I made up my mind then and there that I would not make him wait forever. He was going to be my first. It was the price that I had to pay to be his girlfriend, and the most popular girl at school.

The way I saw it, I did not really have a choice. I knew how the game went. The minute I didn't give Paul what he wanted, there would be a line of girls waiting to take my place, and I was not going to have that. No way was I going to spend the rest of my high school days as the girl who couldn't keep her boyfriend.

Even though my aunt Joy had told me over and over how she felt about me, sex, and boys, at this moment, I didn't care. I had to do it if I wanted to keep him. I made myself feel better by telling myself over and over again that everybody my age had probably already started having sex. I don't know for sure if any og the girls I used to hang out with had done it or not, because like I said before, sex had never really been the topic of our conversations. It was my aunt Joy who all of a sudden made me take a double look at the issue. And now it seemed as though she had opened up a brand new can of worms.

As Paul stood there kissing all over me, peer pressure became my biggest motivation to just go ahead and go all the way, so I gave in and led Paul to my room. As we walked hand in hand, I'm surprised mine didn't slip right out of his because it was so sweaty. And let's not even talk about the knot in my stomach. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt like I wanted to cry. Everything inside of me screamed for me to turn around and send Paul packing if he couldn't deal with the fact that I wasn't ready yet, but I had already told him yes. I could not back out now. It was too late.

After entering my bedroom, I closed the door behind us. He undressed me and his hands ran all over my body. What he was doing felt good to me, but I was also afraid. I had heard different stories through other girls around my old neighborhood. Some said that their first time was painful; others said it was the best time of their life. So far I only had one word to describe what I was going through and that was...unsure. I was unsure about the entire thing. I knew I wasn't ready, but I wanted to please him. My goal was to keep him happy and interested in me. It was the reason I told him yes.

He unsnapped my bra and I felt a tear slide from my eye. Right before I felt his hands making their way up to my breast I opened my mouth to say no. I thought I could go through with this whole thing, but I couldn't. I'd just have to suffer the consequences whatever they may be. Before the word 'no' could even make it's way up my throat and onto my tongue, the sound of a slamming door halted the entire show.

"Dawn?" I heard my aunt call out.

"Shit! That's my aunt! She's home!" I yelled and pushed Paul away from me.

"I thought she was at work!" He whispered.

"She is...I mean I thought she was...I mean, she was supposed to be." I stammered as I began to scramble for my clothes. In the midst of trying to get dressed, I realized my main concern should be getting rid of Paul. "Here, go out the window." I said as I pushed him towards it while snapping on my bra.

"Okay, call me tonight." He whispered as he kissed my cheek and disappeared.

I fumbled to get all of my articles of clothing back on. Last but not least I managed to get my shirt on. I quickly buttoned it up and rushed out into the hallway, nearly knocking my auntie over as I crashed directly into her.

"What is the rush? Didn't you hear me calling you? What are you doing up here?" She asked me, suspiciously looking over my shoulder and into my bedroom.

My mind could not find an answer for her quick enough, and I began to stammer. "I umm, I was umm..."

"Dawn, what's wrong with you?" Aunt Joy snapped, pushing past me and peeking inside my room. After seeing for herself that everything was in order, she turned around and faced me. "Get down stairs to start your chores." She said. "I knew you didn't do nothing but mess around when you got home from school. You probably wait until I'm on my way home to start cleaning. But I caught you off guard today, didn't I? Mhm~, my shift ended early today, too many nurses for the few patients." She scanned the house like it was a pig sty or something. "You've been home for nearly an hour and you haven't done anything yet. I really need you to step up and be more responsible, Dawn. You're not a little girl anymore."

I scanned the house too, not looking for any clues though. I was looking for any evidence that Paul might have left behind that gave away the fact that a boy was in the house. I was relieved to see that he hadn't. "I know ma'am and I'm sorry." I said. Really, the house didn't even look that bad, but I didn't want to say something and start anything.

Words can't describe how glad I was that the only Aunt Joy was fussing about was the house. My heart finally went back to it's normal pace as I crept past my aunt and went to complete my chores. This was the first time that I had done the chores happily with a smile. And it was also the first time I had ever welcomed Aunt Joy and her fussing. I was grateful for Aunt Joy's interruption. She had actually saved me from giving into Paul. I did like him, but I had been scared. 'I just need a little bit more time before we take it that far', I thought as I absent mindedly went through my normal routine.

I had gotten out of going all the way with him this time around, but what about the next time, which I'm sure there would be. I needed some advice, and I needed it fast, before I hung out with Paul again. The only person I could think of to call was May. I knew I could tell her everything. We had shared all kinds of secrets with each other and had given each other advice. I needed her to tell me what I should do.

I sped through my chores at supersonic speed, and as soon as I was done, I took the phone to my room, shutting the door so I could have some privacy. I dialed May's number and she picked up and greeted me with on the second ring. Well, I guess you could call it a greeting.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my used to be best friend." May stated. She never answered any called until she screened them first with the called ID, so I knew she would know it was me.

"What? Why did you say that? What's up with you?" I asked, trying to play nonchalant. Maybe if I acted as though things weren't serious, then she would too.

"You know what's up, Dawn. You're always trying to play like Miss Goody Goody. You knew I liked Paul and you backstabbed me by going after him yourself. You stole him right from underneath my nose you fake bit-"

"Stole him?" I asked, cutting her off. "Technically, he talked to me first!"

"Yeah, let you tell it. But I know the real deal," May said in a knowing tone. "He probably did come up and talk to you, but it was so that he could get information about me. But I could see you know stealing the spotlight, because we both know how much you like the spotlight. It probably drove you crazy that someone like him could be interested in me over you."

I wanted to tell that girl that she had watched on too many school specials over the years, but what good would it have done. Her mind was made up about Paul, and if it made her feel any better, then what was the harm in letting her think it?

"Look, May, I'm sorry about everything, but right now I really need your advice about something."

"Does this something have anything to do with Paul?"

I sighed. "You are my best friend. I was going to let you have him, May, but he came to me." I defended.

"Whatever, Dawn. What do you want? My mom needs me to run to the store for her."

I knew she was rushing me off the phone, but I thought for sure that after she heard what I had to say she would make time to talk to me. "I almost had sex with Paul today." I whispered, making sure my aunt didn't hear me.

"You did what?" She asked. I couldn't tell if she was shocked or pissed.

"I almost had sex with him. I told him yes, but my aunt came home and he had to leave. I don't know if I should do it or not. I'm supposed to call him tonight." I said. "Should I do it?"

"So he tried to have sex with you already?" May asked. I could tell by her tone that she was thinking. She thought that Paul was only trying to be with me for one thing. I could tell by her voice that she wanted to laugh at me, but I didn't say anything. I knew it was the furthest thing from the truth. But if it made her feel even that much better to think that was all Paul wanted from me, and if allowing her to think that was going to get our friendship back on the right track, then so be it.

"Yes, he did." I confirmed. "And I know eventually he's going to want to pick up where we left off. So should I?"

Without hesitating, May replied, "Yeah, go ahead. Everybody does it."

"Have you?" I inquired. Like I said, we'd never really talked about sex.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you waited this long to have sex." She said as if I should be ashamed of myself for still being a virgin. "But then again maybe it will be worth the wait since it looks like your first will be with the most popular guy at school. Hm...yeah, Dawn, I would do it if I were you." She stated.

"You would?" I questioned again with uncertainty. "I mean, you're not gonna be mad or anything that my first is Paul? Supposedly the boy you liked?"

"Don't remind me, Dawn." She jokingly warned.

"Thanks, May. I just needed to talk to somebody to make sure I'm not making a mistake. May, I really do like him." I admitted with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said in a sing-song voice. I imagined her playfully swooshing her. "I'll see you tomorrow. Like I said, I have to go to the store. Bye." She hung up before I had the chance to say bye.

I knew underneath it all, she was just a little jealous over the fact that I was the one that Paul had chosen, but I figured if she wasn't completely over it already, she would get over it eventually. She had to, because it looked like Paul and I were about to be an item. It's not like I was putting a boy before my best friend, because I wanted to be with both of them.

May was a good friend and had always been there for me. Just the simple fact that she had told me to go through with losing my virginity to Paul let me know that it was okay to follow her advice. She'd never steered me wrong before. Like she said, everyone was doing it. I didn't want to be the only one left out.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Soo~... HOW WAS THAT? ;) Crazy huh? *Nods head* Yeah, I agree. Lol, so who thinks Dawn is making a bad decision? Hm...things should get interesting soon, huh? lol. Well, I can't say much because I'm typing the author's notes on my phone -.- lol. Okay, update next weekened &amp; hopefully an update for CWOHS2 this weekend. I'm also trying to update another story of mine ;) lol. <strong>

**Geesh, everyone the PEARLSHIPPING is coming -_- give me few more chapters. Just because it's AshxDawn doesn't mean it has to be AshxDawn right off the bat -_-. Wouldn't be such a story if it was like that now would it? If you don't like what you're reading then you really don't have to click this story to read it. Alright? Okay. So don't complain about what you're reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: Hello :) I bet you didn't expect a chapter from me today did you ;) haha. Well, this chapter took me like an hour to do and my friend said I can use his computer again, so why not? :D Lol. I don't have much to say except...THIS CHAPTER IS NOT LONG AT ALL! SO DO NOT COMPLAIN! This is ONLY a filler chapter! Kay? Oh and I hope nothing up here messes up -.- I'm using Microsoft and I'm guessing that it's messing things up because in CWOHS2 all my " and ' were missing -_- I had no idea that happened until I read reviews -_- So if you see anything, let me know and I will be sure to fix that :) Thank you...I hope you enjoy this short chapter xD.**

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><p>The next day when I arrived at my bus stop, Paul was waiting there for me in his car. Instead of getting on the bus, I hopped in his car and sat happily as I rode on the passenger side. We pulled into the student parking lot and I slowly got out so that everybody standing around could see Paul and me together. Envy was so thick in the air that I could almost smell it. I walked side by side with Paul, his arm was over my shoulders, but the interaction between us let everyone know that we were together. I was proudly taken.<p>

"I thought about what happened with us last night." I whispered nervously in his ear. We had managed to avoid the subject the entire ride to school.

"Oh, yeah?" He replied. "What have you been thinking?"

"That I want to." I stated. He stopped walking for a moment.

"Really?" He asked and then started to walk again.

"Yes, I'm sure, but we can't do it at my house, that's for sure. My aunt's schedule is too unpredictable. I don't want her to walk in on us."

"Don't worry; I'll take care of that." He said before he leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I'll see you later, Dawn." He winked at me and went the other direction. I smiled at him and turned the other way and started to walk to my class.

On my way to class I stopped at May's locker. "Hey May." I greeted as she was finishing up at her locker.

She put up the peace sign after closing her locker. I frowned at the nonchalant gesture. We were always happy to see each other, but today, all of a sudden, she had an attitude. I thought everything would be okay after our conversation on the phone last night. Maybe, I'd thought wrong.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"Nothing's wrong. I just don't feel like being in anybody's face today." She said as she turned to head for her class. I knew she was trying to be funny. It took everything in me to keep my cool because I was ready to go off on her. "I saw you and Paul walking in the building arm in arm. So what, you two are together now?"

"Oh so now you're talking to me?" I asked playfully. I smiled and waited for her to say something as I slowly walked behind her.

"I was just asking." May said, shrugging.

"Why are you mad at me? Is this about Paul again?" I already knew that it was about Paul, but I wanted to put all of my cards on the table. "I thought we squashed this yesterday?" Evidently, May seeing me with Paul this morning had caused her attitude to resurface.

"I'm not mad at you. I just still think it's kind of fucked up how you went after the boy that I liked." May said while folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay, for real, let's put this on the table." Both May and I stopped walking. She turned to face me as I continued. "I really like Paul. Please don't get mad about this. You're my best friend. I have enough people that are jealous of me, already. I don't want my supposed to be 'best friend' to jump on that bandwagon too."

"Jealous?"

"Come on, May, you know I didn't mean it like that. I just want everything to be cool between us. Are we good?"

May shrugged. "Yeah we're good. I told you I'm not mad. Paul is on yesterday's agenda." She changed the subject, but not really. "Why weren't you on the bus today? Did your aunt drop you off at school?"

"Paul picked me up today." I said with a smirk. I knew that it would get under her skin, but I didn't care. I had always supported her, so I expected her to get over herself and be there for me.

"Well, I've got to go. Have a good day." She said as she walked away and headed into her classroom.

As I made my way to class, I could feel people looking at me. Some people had envy in their eyes, while others went out of their way to speak to me.

Being with a popular group of girls like I'd done in the past had nothing on being Paul's girlfriend. Being his girlfriend was like being teen royalty. Suddenly everybody knew my name and wanted to be around me. I was the center of attention at lunch. I had more friends than I ever had. I was a permanent fixture on Paul's arm. We were the cutest couple in school.

Over time, May stayed distant, but she stopped with the sarcastic comments. We weren't as close as we once were, but I had a new boyfriend and really didn't have time for anything else but him anyways. Aunt Joy knew nothing about me having a boyfriend, but I snuck around so that I could see him. I began to skip class with Paul almost every day, and what was once the upper classmen hangout spot in the basement, became me and Paul's private spot.

I didn't think I was wrong for lying to my aunt about my whereabouts when I was with Paul. I felt like he would keep me safe and I would do anything to spend time with him. I would tell my aunt that I was with May, but really I would be with Paul, going to the movies or just hanging out. It got to the point where he was the most important thing in my life. May, school, family...none of it mattered more than him. I don't know if I was clinging to him because my mother was no longer in my life, but I knew that Paul made me feel accepted and important.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: So how was that short chapter? :D I actually like it ^_^. Tell me what you think :)<strong>

**Bye :D Review, please!**

**- Angel :]**


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: ^_^ Here's another chapter...I don't have much to say EXCEPT that, uh, in this chapter it's a little 'intercourse' with Dawn and Paul but NOTHING MAJOR! It's not a lemon...kinda a lime...but it's kinda not. I didn't add details...so...well you'll just see :p but, I'm still gonna bump up the rating to M just in case, you know? OKay :) well...read on :)**

**P.s.: Sorry for the shortness /: don't complain..**

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><p>Homecoming was coming up and I was excited about going. Paul and I had already decided that our color would be blue, so all I had to do, now, was find a cute blue dress. He couldn't pick me up for the dance because my aunt had made it clear about how she felt about boys. So, to avoid any problems and problems, I told Paul that I would just meet him at the dance.<p>

I had a fairytale image of how I wanted homecoming to go. I knew that I would feel like a princess that night and I was lucky to share it with my prince charming. Aunt Joy scraped up enough money to buy me a royal blue, satin, spaghetti strap dress. It was backless and lay over my curves as if it was made for me. It was beautiful and made me look older, which is why I liked it. I didn't want to feel like a kid on that day. My dress made me feel grown up and I was sure that I would be the best dressed girl at the dance.

The night of the dance came quickly. I was nervous and had first date jitters as I closed my eyes and let my aunt apply my make-up. "Are you excited?" She asked sweetly, standing before me in her nurses scrubs. She had to go into work, but had managed to trade shifts at work with someone in order to be able to be home to help me get ready.

"Yeah, I am." I said with a wide smile. "It's my first dance. This is the first time I've dressed up like this. I just wish my mom was here with me." It was always times like this that I missed her most. I felt like I was being robbed of something because she wasn't here.

"She's here with you, Dawn. She is always here with you and she's looking down on you right now. I know my sister wouldn't miss this moment for the world. You look beautiful and your mother sees you."

I smiled and nodded. I let her words hit my heart because I need to hear them. I really hoped that her words were true.

"I'm sorry that I have to work tonight, but I hope you have a wonderful time. Your curfew is midnight, and not a minute later, Dawn." She said as she closed her make-up kit and kissed my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." I replied. "No need to worry! I'll be just fine. I'll tell you all about the dance tomorrow."

"I can't wait to hear all about it."

I smiled at the rare moment of closeness between me and my aunt. She left the house and minutes later I was right behind her. I called May, who had gotten her brother Ash to drive us to the dance. They came and picked me up.

"You look cute, May." I said. Her Ivory dress was cocktail length. She really did look cute.

"I know." She answered without commenting on my dress.

She didn't have to tell me how I looked, though. Just the fact that she went out of her way not to give me a compliment let me know that I was definitely hot. She was, truly, become a first class hater.

After I got in the car, Ash glanced in the backseat and nodded his head at me, with a wink. "What's up, Dawn?" He greeted. "You look beautiful." His smile just made me want to melt right there on the spot.

I blushed and replied, "Thanks." I had always had a huge crush on him, but he was four years older than me, so I knew that he was off limits, but it didn't stop me from looking.. Every feature he had had made him look handsome; his brown chocolate eyes, messy hair, perfect white smile, and his sexy body made him irresistible. I would definitely choose Ash over Paul any day.

When we arrived at the school, there were cars and limos pulling up left and right. I got out of the car and immediately found Paul, who was waiting for me at the entrance. His eyes scanned my body and I knew he was pleased with my appearance.

"Wow." He said.

"Wow to yourself." I replied as I admired his black tuxedo.

We went inside, walking hand in hand, and went straight to the dance floor. We danced for hours; playing around and having fun with all of our classmates. I felt so special. I knew that I would never get another night like that night. The decor of the room, the elegance of it all; it overwhelmed me and I decided that it was the night for me to fulfill my end of the bargain with Paul. It was the night that we would take our relationship to the next level. All he had to do was answer the question correctly.

"Thank you for asking me to homecoming." I said as we took a break from dancing and took a sip of punch.

"Who else was I going to ask? You're my girl and everyone knows it." He said while smiling.

"I know. I also know that you could have chosen anybody and you chose me, so I wanted to thank you for that. You mean a lot to me." I admitted. "I think I might love you or at least like you a whole lot." I said it in a joking way so he wouldn't think I was taking things to quickly.

"I love you too, Dawn."

"You do?" I asked in complete shock. I hadn't expected him to return the sentiment, although, I was hoping he would.

"I said it, didn't I?" He asked. I smiled and nodded.

A slow song came on and I pulled him back to the dance floor. "I have a surprise for you." I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I assured him confidently. "I want to give you something."

"And what's that?" He asked.

"You know." I answered with a quick kiss on the lips. "We got interrupted the first time we tried. But, we won't this time."

"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" He asked with a small smile on his face. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and put my head into his chest, shyly. "You love me, right?"

"I already told you I do." He said.

"Then I'm sure." I said, smiling. He grabbed my hand and led me off of the dance floor. "Where are we going?" I asked as I looked around to see if anyone had noticed us leaving.

"Shh, just follow me." He said as he continued to pull me somewhere with him.

I trusted him, so I followed him quietly out of the gym, through the darkened hallways, and down into the closed off basemen that had become out personal hideout spot. "What are we doing down here?" I asked. "We're missing the dance."

"You said you were sure." He reminded me.

"What? You want to do it down here? Now?" I asked. I looked around the cold, darkened area. There were old school desks and chairs throughout the room. It was dusty and I could hardly see Paul, even though he was standing right in front of me. This was not the place I imagined when I thought of losing my virginity. It wasn't romantic or intimate at all. I pictured a nice hotel room fixed with all the perks you see on TV, when a couple is about to have sex. Where were the flowers? What about the rose petals? Where were the candles? It wasn't supposed to happen in an old, worn down, basement. I was about to give up something that I had held onto for seventeen years and I had expected my first time to be a little bit more luxurious than what was before me.

"Why not now?" He asked as he kissed me softly on the neck.

I didn't respond, but my eyes scanned the room once more in doubt. I was skeptical and disappointed that it was about to happen like this, but I couldn't tell him no, so I pretended like it was fine, and when he kissed me, I kissed back. The feeling of his lips made my heart race and I forgot that just a couple of minutes ago I was reluctant to go through with our plans.

I liked Paul. Sometimes I even felt that I really loved him, although most adults would say that I knew nothing about love. I'm old enough to know how I feel and I was sure that what I had with Paul would last forever. He was my boyfriend and I had already mapped out our entire future together. I would sit in class writing down wedding plans, naming all of my friends and his friends, along with our wedding color scheme.

I had it all planned out in my head. When I graduated and went off to college, like I knew my aunt would make me do, we would keep in touch through email and phone calls. I would try to sneak away to see him when I could, but would wait faithfully until I was able to come back for holidays breaks. It would be hard for a while, but when he graduated, he would apply to the same college as I was attending and we would finally be reunited.

I imagine all of these things as he undressed me; slipping the straps of my dress off my shoulders. I was shy and insecure about my body. I knew that I was attractive and had a nice shape, but I wasn't used to anyone besides myself seeming me naked on a regular, and now I stood before him, once again, as naked as the day I was born.

Almost like the last, though, he didn't seem to notice, because he was too anxious about the next step. He took off his tux jacket and laid it on the ground. When we lay down on the basement floor I began to have second thoughts. My body tensed up, and what I thought would be pleasure was actually a great amount of pain.

"Ow." I whispered as I felt him enter me. "Wait."

He stopped and looked at me in irritation. "You want me to stop?" He asked. From the tone of his voice I knew that he was losing his patience. I didn't want him to break up with me and I didn't want to take away something that I had already promised he could have, so instead of doing what I wanted to do, which was stop, I shook my head and told him to keep going. 'Just get it over with. You love him and he loves you. He deserves this.' I told myself. He was my prince and what we had was a fairytale. I wasn't going to be the one to ruin it by telling him no.

He started to thrust in and out. I felt like I was being ripped apart and my body tensed up. My legs shook uncontrollably and I stifled my tears. It hurt so badly and I wondered why girls had told me that their first time had been good. He started to move faster, just making the pain so much worse. I tried to block out the pain until eventually it faded away. After only a few minutes I was lying on the floor and Paul was adjusting his clothes. The next thing, I knew there was a sudden flash of light. He had pulled out his cell phone and was aiming his camera at me.

"Smile for me, sexy. I want a picture of my girlfriend." I covered up as best as I could and gave him my best bright white smile. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked.

I nodded and sat up to get dressed. The drip drop of the leaky basement was not what I had fantasized about and I wished that my first time could have been more special, but it was too late for that. I had already gone through with it. I had nothing left to lose, but for some reason I felt a little bit older...a bit more mature; even though I was only a little girl playing a grown woman's role.

I was shaking, but didn't know if it was a result of the temperature or the fact that I had just taken my body through something that it was not ready for. Either way, I felt like I was weak. "I think I just need to lie down. Can you take me home?" I asked.

He nodded and gave me his suit jacket for me to wear as we made our way up the steps and out of the front of the building. He gave my hand a squeeze of reassurance and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You're my world, girl."

Those words touched my heart and I smiled sheepishly. He cared about me, and at that moment, any doubt that I had conjured was erased by the affection that he showed me.

He ended up dropping me off at the corner of my street and I walked the rest of the way. I didn't want my aunt to catch me getting out of a boy's car. She would have had a fit and probably would have been sniffing my panties to make sure I hadn't done the unthinkable. Little did she know, the 'crime' had already been committed and there was nothing for her to protect anymore.

I knew that she would never understand. I loved Paul and I felt like that what we had would last forever, but I knew that she would think that I was young and dumb. No, it was best for me to hide it from her and continue to see Paul secretly. Besides, our business didn't belong to anyone but us. She didn't need to know, unless I wanted her to. I ran my fingers through my long, curled, hair to make sure that everything was in place before I walked into the house, a totally different girl than I had been when I'd walked out of it...

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: O_O Wow, huh? Crazy...mm mm mm. Okay, I'm gonna say this: You guys are gonna like FLIP out on the next chapter ;) Wait until you see what happens ^_^ I can't wait to start typing it, hehehe. But first, tell me what you think of this chapter :)<strong>

**Until...sometime...**

**- Angel :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: :D I'm out of school today, at my dad's house, and just decided to write the chapter for this and update it :) I was so~ excited to put this up because of what you find out and also what Dawn finds out :x I think you guys will like this chapter ;) Well, I'm not gonna spoil anything for you so read! :D**

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><p>Aunt Joy had dozed off on the couch. She was still dressed in her work clothes. I smiled because she had the remote control in here hand, with it pointing towards the TV, even though she was knocked out. I leaned over her and kissed her cheek.<p>

"I'm home, Auntie." I said.

She opened her eyes, changed the TV channel, and stretched her arms out. "Oh, hi, baby. How was the dance?" She asked.

"It was good." I answered. "I had a whole lot of fun. The dance was just fun." I said a little nervous. "So, what are you doing home? I thought you traded shifts and had to be at work."

She sat up on the couch. "I did go to work. It's just that they didn't even have me down on the schedule. I got home not too long ago. I would have been home earlier, but an emergency came in that I had to help tend to first." She looked over at the clock on the wall that hung above the TV. "Never mind what I'm doing home. Why are you home so early? I thought you were all going out to eat afterwards." She stated when she noticed that it was only eleven thirty.

"We were, but I started cramping." I lied quickly and a little bit too easily for comfort. I was getting good at making her believe what I wanted her too. I didn't like the fact that I had to lie to her, but Paul was worth it. "I just came home right after the dance.

"Okay, well there is some medicine in the cabinet. Go take a hot bath; it may help you feel better. I'll put some hot tea on your night stand." She said in a motherly way.

I smiled and nodded, then headed towards the bathroom. I needed to take a shower anyway. I felt dirty and sticky. I showered quickly, scrubbing down every inch of my body. Afterwards I retired to my room, where just as Auntie Joy promised, there was a cup of hot tea at my bed side. I picked up the mug and took a sip, allowing the hot liquid to flow down my throat and through my body. I looked over at the clock, only to see that fifteen minutes had passed. May had told her brother, Ash, to pick us up after the dance. Surely he'd picked her up and she was home by now, unless she went out to eat anyway.

I grabbed the phone and dialed May's cell phone number instead of her house number. Knowing her, I figured she was probably still out, but I couldn't wait to share my news with her. I just had to tell somebody what had happened to me that night. When May answered, I could hear chatter in the background.

"Hey, girl, where are you?" I asked.

"Everyone went out to eat after the dance. Where are you? I tried to wait on you, but you were taking forever and I didn't see Paul, so I figured you left with him." She said.

"I did leave with him." I covered my mouth and the phone receiver and then whispered into the phone. "We did it."

"Did it?" She asked. Then as if a light bulb suddenly went off in her head she exclaimed. "Oh~! Did it! Say you swear!"

I laughed. "I swear on everything I love. It was just like you said it would be...good." It was another lie, but I couldn't possible tell her that my first time had been painful, unromantic, and nothing like I'd imagined it would be. "But I will fill you in on everything tomorrow. I've gotta go before my aunt hears me. Have fun."

"Oh don't worry I will." She said before disconnecting the call.

I drank the rest of my tea, then I laid down. A smiled managed to creep on my face. Although my first time hadn't gone anything like I though it would, at least it been with Paul. Knowing that kept a smile on my face until I drifted off to sleep.

The next couple of days I tried to get hold of May, but she was never available or didn't pick up her cell phone. I figured she'd over done it at the dance and was recuperating.

Come Monday morning, I couldn't wait to get on the school bus and talk with May on the way to school, but when I got on the bus, May wasn't there. I just figured that she had overslept and was going to get a ride from her older brother. I couldn't wait to finish telling her about my night at the dance. It had been killing me to not being able to talk about it to anyone.

As soon as I got to school I waited for her at the entrance of the school. It was almost time for the first bell to ring and she still hadn't arrived. I wanted to see Paul before I had to report to class. I figured she wasn't coming, so I eventually went inside. I saw Paul up the hall and I called his name.

"Paul!" I yelled out as I waved my hand.

He turned towards me and gave me a head nod before continuing to walk in the opposite direction with his friends in tow. I frowned. He usually came and walked me to class. We usually graced the hallways as the cutest couple in school, but since I had waited outside for May for so long, I just assumed that he didn't want to be late for his class.

I jogged up the stairs to my first class. I was almost inside my class when I heard the late bell ring. "Shit!" I said aloud as I stopped running and took my time getting inside the classroom. There wasn't a use in rushing now since I was already tardy. I walked into the class and immediately took my seat. My teacher looked up from his desk.

"You're late, Dawn." He said sternly.

"I know. I had to stop at my locker to get my books." I responded, adding another to my long list of lies.

"She was probably in the basement!" Somebody from the back of the room mumbled loudly in between coughs.

"Yeah, probably looking for her panties." Another added.

I thought I was going to lose my breakfast right there on the floor when I hears some giggling take place after the comment. I knew exactly what that little comment meant, and obviously, so did everyone else.

I was appalled and could not believe that the word had gotten out, somehow, about Paul and me. But how could they have known? Surely Paul wouldn't have played me like that, and no one else knew, no one except May. A look of disbelief covered my face. I couldn t believe that she had told everybody about me having sex with Paul. It took everything in me to sit there in class and focus for the first hour. My attention was on the clock the whole time. I couldn't wait for first period to end so that I could get Miss Best Friend.

First hour seemed like first two hours, but eventually the period ended and I headed straight to May's locker.

"Did you tell anybody?" I whispered harshly to her as I stood next to her locker.

She snickered through her nose. "I didn't have too." She replied in a snotty tone with a roll of her eyes. "Look, I'm late. Gotta go." And just like that she was off to her next class. Unfortunately, I was off to my next class to face a whole new group of people who probably knew my business too.

Second hour ticked by slowly. I felt like I was sitting inside a closet with all eyes on me. I heard the snickers and the sarcastic comments. I wished that a hole would just come, swallow me up and take me away from it all. I was embarrassed. Suddenly I felt more insecure than I ever had in my entire life. It was as if everybody knew what had happened between Paul and me. May had denied putting my business out, but I knew deep down that she was the one who had spread it all over the school. I just hoped that it hadn't spread any further, like to the teachers, and then ever worse, to my Aunt Joy.

At that moment I felt like the only person I could trust was Paul. I wished we were in the same grade so that I could talk to him. I needed to see him as soon as possible. Sitting there for sixty minutes was torture. I could barely breathe and I did not hear one word my teacher said. When the bell finally freed me, I sprang out of my seat. I passed May in the hallway and noticed the smug look on her face. At that moment I could have killed her, but I had already wasted enough time on her this morning. I needed to see Paul.

I rushed to Paul's locker to find him standing there with a group of upperclassmen. They were all huddled around him, even Giselle and the other cheerleaders were peering over his shoulder making comments.

"Hey!" I said as I made my way through the crowd. I tapped his shoulder and he turned towards me. "I need to talk to you." By this time I had tears in my eyes. I just wanted him to take me away from all of this. As long as I had him, I was fine. I didn't care about anything or anybody else. I wanted him to make me feel better about the situation.

"What about, Dawn? I'm busy right now." He replied.

I looked up at him in confusion. He had never brushed me off the way that he was now, and I got the feeling that he was mad at me or something. Perhaps he'd already heard about our business being out there. Even worse, because I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him all morning, he probably thought that I was dodging him because I had something to do with it. I had to make things right, and fast.

"I need to talk to you Paul. I need you right now." My voice trembled, but I contained my emotions. "I have to talk to you, Paul, it's important." I managed to get the words out without breaking down in tears.

"Ugh! Why are you in my man's face?" I heard Giselle say as she slid next to Paul and he put his arm around her shoulders.

"YOUR MAN?" I yelled before looking at Paul for some answers.

"I'll get at you later, Dawn. We'll hook up...when I need some more of what you gave me at the dance." He stated arrogantly.

"Me too!" I heard one of his friends added. "I hear you give on heck of a slow dance."

His crowd of friends laughed at my expense and I ran into the girl's bathroom. I was heated! I couldn't believe that he had just played me out in front of the entire school. Even the girls who were already in the bathroom were looking at me funny.

"WHAT ARE YOU SLUTS LOOKING AT?" I yelled.

"The only slut in here is you. You're the one getting busted out in the basement." A girl replied before leaving.

I leaned over the sink and let my tears flow. This could not be happening to me. How had the entire school found out about this? Another girl came out of one of the stalls and stood uncomfortably behind me as she watched me cry. I was too ashamed to even look up, but I could feel her standing there. I just buried my face in my hands and cried.

"Excuse me." She said as she maneuvered around me to wash her hands.

An uncomfortable silence occupied the space between us, I could feel her staring, but I didn't care. "So, I guess you know too, huh?" I asked without looking up at her.

"Yeah, I know." The girl replied. "I knew that was going to happen when you first started talking to Paul. He's just like every other high school dude in this school. The only reason why he even talked to you is because he knows about all you've gone through and he wanted to take advantage of you." I heard the water run for a second and then it stopped. Next I heard the ripping sound of a paper towel. "But you know, I betted against you falling for the trick. I mean last year, you were one of the girls that I envied. You seemed strong willed and like you had it all. I guess losing a loved one can sometimes cause you to lose yourself. Trust me, I know. Looks like you got caught up in Paul's popularity. Believe me, you're not the first one he pulled that crap on and you won't be the last."

I sniffled aloud, not ashamed to be crying my eyes out, but too ashamed to look up and see her watching me do it. "I just don't know how everybody knows. The only other person who knew was my friend, May." I admitted. I don't why I was in the bathroom sharing my life story with this girl. I guess she was the only person who was willing to talk to me and I needed to talk to somebody.

Still not making eye contact with the girl, I heard her fiddle around in her purse and then pull out something. "Look. This is how everybody's knows. I got this over the weekend." She said.

I opened my eyes to be staring at her cell phone. It showed me the picture that Paul had taken of me at the dance down in the basement right after we had done it. It had been forwarded to her phone with a message that read: _While everybody else was dancing in the gym, Paul was hitting this in the school basement. If you want it, she will give it to you. Forward this to ten friends so someone else can get lucky too._

I put my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes as I continued to sob. "Your friend didn't tell everybody." The girl said. "Paul did. All he wanted to do from the start was humiliate you."

I was stunned. "But he said he loved me." I said, shaking my head from side to side in complete disbelief.

"Look, I know you are young and you believed all that game he was giving to you, but Paul is a player. You gave him what he wanted and now he is showing you his true colors. It's just another notch on his belt. It doesn't count if everybody doesn't know about it. He's a jerk, but don't let him see you crying and upset. Get yourself together." she let out a friendly chuckle. The more this girl talked the more familiar she seemed to me. "The way you used to stroll through these halls with your nose up in the air like you was all that is the way you need to walk out of here right now. Others may have gotten the wrong impression and thought you were stuck up, but I saw it as confidence. Heck, there were times I used to envision me being right along with you with the same attitude. So muster up that same confidence and strut right out of here and forget about Paul."

I really took this girl's words to heart. "Thanks." I said to her.

"No problem. And if you ever need someone to talk to," I felt her hand rest on my shoulder. "Just call me, Dawn."

When she said my name there was way too much familiarity. I looked up to none other than Misty Waterflower standing before me. Obviously, she was back from Sinnoh where her sisters had sent her away to after their parents died. I nodded and replied, "Thanks, Misty." She gave me a friendly hug and I appreciated the gesture, even though it didn't make me feel any less stupid for falling for one of the oldest tricks in the guy book.

"I've got to get to class." Misty said, and then left. I went into the stall and sat down on the toilet seat. I couldn't go to class. I didn't want to see everyone staring at me. News had definitely gotten around. My name was scribbled on the insides of the bathroom stall I was sitting in. Apparently I was loose and easy to get with. My feelings were crushed. The boy who I had given my heart to had given me dirt to eat. I couldn't understand why he would do me like that. Why had he chosen me to make a fool of? I had trusted him enough to give him something that I could never get back, and now I was regretting it. In high school, your reputation is everything and mine had now been tarnished.

I heard the bell ring, but I couldn't force myself to leave my seclusion inside of the girl's bathroom. I didn't even come out of the stall. I felt safe and sheltered inside of the bathroom. I didn't have to deal with the accusatory stares or the humiliating whispers of the students in school.

Everybody that they knew what had happened. They all believed Paul's side of the story. I could just imagine him bragging to his friends about taking my virginity. He was probably proud that he had gotten me to give it up. He had no clue of the amount of pain he was causing me. My puppy love had turned into hate. What I thought was too good to be true, proved to be just that.

On top of everything, as if to pour salt in my wound, Paul then had the nerve to toss me to the side like I was yesterday's news. He was parading Giselle all over school to let it be known that I was replaced. How could I have been so stupid? I closed my eyes and imagined my mom. She was my world. She had protected me from stuff like this. I was her princess and she had never wanted to me to feel any pain.

I could see her face behind my closed eye lids. I remembered how she would push me on the swings when I was little. I would always jump off and fly through mid air even though I was afraid of heights. Just the thrill of it made me do it every time. It never failed, but I would always land too hard, scrapping my hands and knees just like a little boy. I could still hear my spoiled cries as I looked at my mother for comfort. She would give me a reassuring smile, kneel down in front of me, and say _"Shake it off, baby girl."_ Just her saying those words would make all of the pain to go away. I would stand up, shake it off, and keep on going just to make her proud.

I opened my eyes and whispered. "Shake it off." Forget Paul. I wasn't going to let him beat me. Yes, he had fooled me and I had made a dumb mistake, but he wasn't going to ruin my entire life. Everybody made mistakes and I was going to shake it off and forget about him.

I stood up and shook my head from side to side while taking deep breaths. "Forget him." I told myself. "You didn't do anything wrong. He did. You don't have to be embarrassed." It took me all dang day to get my courage up, but when school was finally over I walked out of the bathroom and headed for my bus. I walked right pass the snickers with my head held high. My confidence faltered momentarily when I saw Paul standing in his entourage of groupies and teammates. My heart beat sped up ten times, but I kept walking until I stood in front of him.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

Giselle rolled her eyes and answered for him. "No." She seethed. Then she put her hand up to her mouth as if she made a mistake. "You're stale and old news. I guess you let too many hands go into your cookie jar."

Before I knew it, I hauled off and hit her in her face. Her hands flew up in defense and I hit her one more time just to get out my frustrations. Her nose was bleeding and she was on the ground. Everybody was circled around us while I stomped her out.

"Whoa, Dawn, chill out!" Paul stated as he pulled me off of Giselle. "Calm down, Dawn!"

I spazzed on him too, partially for taking her side and partially for causing me to go through an entire day of torture. "WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?" I screamed.

He chuckled to himself as he grabbed my arm. "You're tripping, Dawn." He said coolly, obviously trying to maintain his image in front of his friends. "You knocked her out, Dawn. Maybe I need to keep you on my team."

"Why did you send that text to everybody? You said you loved me! You told me I was special. That was the only reason why I even slept with you! I thought you were mines..." I said.

Paul wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. He leaned down and tried to push up on me suggestively. "Come on, Dawn, quit spazzing on me. I'll be your boyfriend." He patronized me.

I brought my leg up and kneed him as hard as I could in between his legs. He doubled over in excruciating pain and I was apprehended by the school principal.

"Young lady, what is wrong with you? You need to follow me!" He said as he pulled me by the elbow away from the scene of the fight.

If I thought dealing with all of my peers had been tough, things were about to get even tougher.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: So, finally, she knows Paul's true intentions. Well, what I'm about to say I KNOW A LOT of you will be happy about ;) . Paul won't be in the story anymore (I don't think; if he is then he doesn't have a big role anymore Dawn's through with him.) and do you know what that means? ;) No? Well it means that ASH WILL BE COMING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER :D! He's gonna have a bigger role :), but before you get too excited there might not be a whole lot of pearlshipping, but there will be some. <strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: Hello :] everyone. Another day, another update :D. I'm out of school and at my brother's house so...of course I had to update :D. I was going to update 'Cwohs2' today but, urgh, the chapter is under MAJOR construction -.- I've written and RE-written it like three times, literally, because I didn't like it. So hopefully, I can get it just right soon so I can put it up here :). Working on another story helps with writer's block too ^_^ so yeah, it should be out soon guys. **

**With that said...on to the chapter!**

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><p>I ended up getting kicked out for ten days and Auntie Joy spazzed out on me when she had to leave work to pick me up.<p>

"What were you thinking about when you jumped on that girl like that?" She yelled at me all the way through the school parking lot and even louder once we were inside the car. "Now I have to find somebody to watch you while I'm at work."

"I'm almost grown. I don't need a babysitter!" I replied.

"Almost and being are two different things, and don't you forget it."

"But..." I started but she cut me off.

"Just be quiet, dawn. I don't want to hear a word out of your mouth right now." She shook her head in total disgust. "Fighting? What would possess you to fight?"

"Trust me Auntie, if you knew why I did it, you would not blame me." I shot back. "They both deserved it. I'll take the ten days because I think it was worth it."

"Oh, you think it was worth it." She mimicked sarcastically. "You listen up and you listen good, young lady. I don't care how old you get, you're not grown until you get out of my house and I don't have to buy the food you eat or the tissue you wipe your behind with. You just got into high school under my watch and already you are kicked out for fighting. I know these past few months have been rough on you, but you need to slow down and pump your brakes a little. You are a young girl. Stay in a young girl's place. Don't start with this crap and I mean it! I'm not going to tolerate you getting kicked out of school."

I fumed silently wishing that I could reveal to her the full story, but I would just be opening up a whole new can of worms if I admitted to having sex, so I didn't respond. Like always, I just let my aunt get her fuss on big time.

"Hello? Do you hear me?" She nagged.

"Yeah." I mumbled while rolling my eyes.

"Yeah? Dawn, you must have lost your mind! I said do you hear me?"

I rolled my eyes because she was on a roll, but I knew better than to say anything other than what I was about to. "Yes ma'am. I hear you, auntie." After that, my aunt did all the talking, or should I say yelling, until we finally made it home.

The rest of the night was silent, but I got a smug satisfaction of beating Giselle down and embarrassing Paul the same way he had done me. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't believe that I had liked him in the first place. I had put a strain on my friendship with my best friend just to be with him and I realized that I owed May an apology.

Since my phone privileges had been taken away, I knew I would have to wait to talk to May until I got back to school. It was going to be a long and boring ten days, but it would give the kids at school time to find a new drama to focus on so that they could take the headlights off of me. There was nothing better than being the 'It Girl' at school, but there was nothing worse than being the girl who was gossiped about. Being an outsider was like death in high school and I hated it. I told myself that I would use my time out of school to get focused and get my head right. I wasn't gonna let the little mishap break me.

If I could do all things over again, I would have given Paul more than a few choice words, but I couldn't, so I to suck it up, sharpen up, and make sure that it never happened again.

All I knew was that I would never be someone's puppet again. Paul had taken advantage of me. I had been in a vulnerable state after losing my mother, but never again would I let that happen. I could guarantee that. If anything, I would be the one doing the playing. I wasn't even going to focus on boys. They could all kiss my butt for all I cared. Just like Misty said, high school boys are all the same and I wasn't going to set myself up to be put in the same situation.

My suspension passed by slowly, and after much sucking up, I finally convinced Aunt Joy to go to work without worrying about me. She could call her watch dog neighbors off from having to watch out for me and come knocking on the door to see that I was where I was supposed to be, which was home.

The next morning, my aunt walked into my room to let me know that she got called into work early and was getting ready to go.

"Dawn, are you sleep?" She asked.

"Not anymore." I answered as I peeked my head from underneath the covers. She gave me that 'Don't go there, this is not the day' look so I checked myself. "I'm up."

"I'm about to go to work. I won't be home until late because I'm doing a double shift. Don't you even think about leaving this house and I was this place clean from top to bottom." She instructed. "And get up! Just because you're suspended does not mean you can lay in bed all day. You are going to wake up every morning just like you're going to school. You can get started on your chores or do some homework or something. I don't want you to get too comfortable. Maybe next time you'll think twice before hauling off and punching people."

"Okay." I said as I lay back down. She leaned over and kissed my forehead then left the room. I got up and followed her to the door while rubbing my eyes, sleepily. As soon as I saw her car leave the driveway and drive up the street, I raced back to my room and got back in the bed. There was no way I was going to stay up, but as soon as my head caressed the pillow, I heard a knock at the front door.

"I guess the neighbors didn't get the memo." I said to myself. I huffed and puffed in irritation as I stalked back to the front of the house. I put the security chain on the door and opened it slightly so that I could peek out.

"Open the door and let me in." May said. Her brother stood behind her and I closed the door to unhook the chain.

I opened it wide but didn't say anything to May. The day I got suspended I felt as though she had fronted on me. Misty shouldn't have had to show me what was going on with her cell phone. May evidently knew what was going on. She should have pulled me to the side and schooled me on it. Just thinking about it really made me mad. I really didn't have anything to say to her at that moment.

"I brought Ash with me. I told him what Paul did and he's going to handle it for you." May told me. I crossed my arms cross my chest and stood in an offensive stance. "Can we come in?" May asked snottily. The nerve of this girl...

I stepped to the side and she stormed in. Ash walked in behind her and leaned against the door as he looked down at me. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I nodded and looked at my feet nervously. I'd had a crush on him for as long as I could remember, and now he actually seemed concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine." I responded as I motioned for him to walk into the living room.

After closing the door, I turned towards May. She had made herself comfortable on the couch with her shoes off and the remote control in her hand.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Nope." May said. "I'm supposed to be right here. I'm your best friend and I know when you need to be cheered up."

"May, whatever. Don't be fake. You've been acting shady ever since you found out about me and Paul dating. Now all of a sudden you're acting brand me like we've been good this whole time when we haven't. You treated me just as bad as everyone else did. I thought we were best friends, when all along you were my biggest hater."

Ash took a seat next to May, took the remote from her hand, and ignored out conversation completely.

"Dawn, I know I've been acting different towards you lately, but I'm trying to apologize to you. I liked Paul and I felt like you stole him from me. So yeah, I was jealous. But I told myself to get over it because you are my friend and he hurt you. I'm not trying to fall out with you over a boy. We're better than that and I was wrong for acting like that in the first place. That's why I told Ash to put the boy in his place for you."

I shook my head and replied, "You're my friend. You should have been happy for me instead of being jealous, but I forgive you. Don't let that happen again."

May smirked. "It won't, Dawn - I swear." She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. "Now, about Paul-" As soon as she mentioned his name, I cut her off.

"Forget him. I'm not thinking about him, anymore." I said. "Ash, you don't have to do anything on my behalf. I think I embarrassed him enough."

He nodded his head. "Whatever you want Dawn. You know I got you."

I blushed slightly. May noticed this and yelled "UGH~!"

I punched her in the arm. "Okay, you can go now. I'm about to go back to sleep, and the last thing I need is for my aunt to come back unexpectedly and catch me having company."

"Uh-uh, I'm staying over here. I'm skipping school. There's no way I'm gonna sit in class another day while you're having fun at home."

"Well, I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up in a couple of hours." I said as I went back to my room and fell asleep.

I awoke, a couple of hours later, to the smell of food, and walked into the kitchen to find Ash cooking. "Where's May?" I asked while looking around.

He smirked. "She had to go to school. One of the school officers called our house and told on her. Our mom called her cell phone fussing at her and told her to get to school or else."

I burst out laughing. "I'm gonna clown her! She's always talking about doing whatever she wants and being 'grown' as she calls it."

"Yeah whatever, she's far from grown." He replied as he flipped the omelet he was making in the skillet.

"Why didn't you leave with her?" I asked.

"I was tired. She took the bus because I told her I wasn't leaving until I woke up." He answered nonchalantly.

"Your making yourself comfortable aren't you?" I asked sarcastically. I wasn't really bothered by that fact though. I was just acting sassy to get his attention.

"I got hungry." He said. "I fixed you one too if that counts."

"It counts." I smiled at him.

We sat down at the kitchen table and I bit into his homemade omelet. "It's good." I admitted.

"Why did you let that boy use you like that?" He asked, changing the subject completely.

I looked up at him and then lowered my head, almost ashamed. "I didn't know he was a dog. He told me I was special. He lied to get what he wanted. I was just stupid and I fell for it."

"He didn't lie about you being special, Dawn. He's just young and stupid. He took advantage of a great girl. Right now his reputation is all that matters to him. Sleeping with you upgraded his game. The more girls he has sex with, the more popular he becomes. He's a player. It's dumb, but comes with the whole high school thing. To be young, I used to be like that too when I was his age. But, I never went that far to what he did."

"That's bull though, because if a girl did the same thing, she would be called a hoe. It's a double standard." I complained.

"It's life. Girls are expected to have higher standards." Ash said in-between bites. "Guys just want to have fun and experiment while they are still young."

"That's stupid and you boys don't think about the girls you hurt while you're having fun. Paul really hurt me. I was a virgin. He took away something that meant something special to me. I thought that I was giving it to someone who cared about me." I couldn't help but let a few tears fall down my face. I wiped them away quickly. "My virginity was the only thing I had that made me different than the other girls. I'm not one of those girls that will open her legs for any and everybody. At least I thought I wasn't."

"You're not one of those girls, Dawn. You're different and you're special. Don't let Paul take your shine, Dawn." He stated.

I smiled and finished my breakfast. "Thanks, Ash. I just wish I could have talked to you about Paul before I gave him some."

He laughed, his Kool-Aid smile warming the features of his face. "You can talk to me anytime you need to talk." He grabbed a pen off of the table and wrote his number down on a paper towel. "For real Dawn, anytime."

He stood to leave and I walked him to the front door. His visit had been unexpected but had made me feel better. I was suddenly glad that May had rudely intruded on my suspension, because if it wasn't for her, I would have never had the conversation with her brother. Once he was gone, I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I didn't want my aunt to know that I had company that day and I didn't want to tick her off any more than she already was. I decided to fly straight and make the most of my time off from school, partially to keep my Aunt Joy happy, but mostly to force myself to move on from my first broken heart.

My suspension basically went the same every day. May tried to stop by when she could, but with the school officers involved, her mom was on her so tough that she couldn't really skip school. To my surprise, Ash came over almost every day. He'd come over as soon as my aunt left for work and I would sleepily get out of bed to let him in. He'd come in and we would crash on the couch for a few hours. He would always wake up first and would make me breakfast to convince me to get out of bed. He was so cool and I could talk to him about anything.

I told him personal things, things that I had never told anyone and we quickly realized that we had more in common than just his sister. He was quickly becoming a better friend to me than May had ever been. We laughed together, and watched movies together everyday...and we kissed one time, but that's a different story. Just know that it was amazing and I could feel the sparks soar through my body. But, that was the only time we did because he said he didn't feel right doing that because of what happened to me and Paul, even though I said I was okay - he said he still enjoyed the kiss, though. But, that's just how Ash is. Sweet and kind-hearted.

Besides my interactions with Paul, I had never been so close to a guy as I was with Ash. There was no pressure with him. I didn't have to get cute when he came over. He appreciated me as I was in pajama pans and a tank top. Once I got used to him coming around, my nervousness faded. He was really my friend and I looked forward to his daily visit. He made me forget about all of the crap that had happened to me at school. As the days passed, I wished he could come back to school with me, to protect me from all of the drama of Cass High. As positive as I tried to think, I knew there was more to come.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: How was that? Ash is a sweetheart ^_^ I love his character, hehe. Well, you'll be seeing more of Ash. Alright, um...next chapter, HOPEFULLY next weekend, if I can get some internet access. So yeah, I don't know what to say now xD except review please :D and thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed this story :D. I LOVE YOU GUYS :D <strong>

**Oh yeah, and I'm writing a Christmas PEARLSHIPPING story ^_^ First chapter is already done and I love it, hehe. Hopefully you will too (:**

**- Angel ^.^**


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: Okay~ I was finally able to update this because I went to my friend's house :D and since I have the rest of the story finished and uploaded up here I can update this sooner :) after this chapter, there's 3 more chapters left. Starting here, is the story's MAIN conflict ;) And YES I KNOW this chapter is short xD lol...so do not complain...hopefully you won't anyways ;) I think you'll be shocked because I honestly don't think anyone thought about this ;) haha...I'm done talking ;)**

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><p>The day I had been dreading finally arrived. It was time to go back to school. May and Ash picked me up. I could feel Ash looking at me through his rearview mirror, but I had too much on my mind to acknowledge him by looking back. I wondered if everything concerning Paul and I had died down, or if the limelight was still on my situation. I knew in just a few minutes I would find out.<p>

When we pulled up in front of the school, May hopped out and I followed behind her. I looked at Ash as I pulled my book bag from the back seat. He winked and I smiled, remembering all the confidence that he had helped me acquire in such a short time. I waved and walked side by side with May into the school. Thankfully, everybody seemed to have moved on with their teenage lives. There were no whispers or harsh stares as I made my way to class. I sighed in pure relief.

"I'm glad that I'm not on everybody's social hit list anymore." I said.

"Dawn, you're good. Even if people are still talking, then forget them." May said snidely. I stopped walking when I saw Paul, but May grabbed my hand. "Dawn, come on!" She urged.

I let her drag me towards him. Not too long ago I was the one walking May to her classes, and now the tables had been turned. I silently wished that there was another route to my class, but there was no avoiding him. He was standing in my way, so I had to go by him. I took a deep breath, calmed the panic that had built in my heart and put a little umph in my step as I sashayed past him. He didn't say anything to me and I didn't say a word to him, which is how I planned to keep it for the rest of the school year. He was somebody that I would rather not know, and if I did have to talk to him, I wasn't going to.

It wasn't until about a month later when I was getting ready to head out to school did my world change forever. I had been feeling weird lately and I didn't know what was wrong. I just wasn't myself, and when my aunt walked into my room and asked, "Dawn, it's about that time of the month for me, so I know yours is on it's way. Do you need any personal items while I'm at the store?"

It was that exact moment that I realized that my period was late...very late. My mouth dropped in shock and I seemed to tune the world out as I quickly calculated how late it was.

"Dawn? Did you hear me?" Aunt Joy asked.

I snapped out of my daze and replied, "Oh yeah, I-I need you to pick me up some." I answered, hoping and praying that my period showed up.

Any other month I would have dreaded those five days of misery, but right now I would have paid for it to come. How was it late? I thought. One week, two, even three? I couldn't remember, but it really didn't matter. I knew that it had not shown up. Maybe I'm just stressed out and it didn't come because of that. I know I made Paul use a condom! Or did I? I never really saw him put one on, I thought frantically. For some reason I couldn't recall if we had used protection or not. It was my first time so I couldn't tell whether he had one on or not. All I know is that it hurt either way it went.

The room began to spin underneath me. I flopped down on my bed. I needed help, but I knew that I could not tell my aunt what I suspected.

Beep! Beep!

"Dawn! May is here!" My aunt shouted. "And didn't I tell you to tell that brother of hers to stop pulling up in front of my house and blowing the horn? If May can't walk her tired butt up and knock on the door, then you need to start catching the bus to school again." She fussed. "I don't know why all of a sudden that boy feels the need to chauffer you two girls to school anyway."

I knew that Ash was making it a habit of taking us to school now because of me. He was about the drama and I could tell that he wished Paul would try to start something with me. I had to admit, I was thankful for him.

I raced out of my room, forgetting my book bag on the way. I just had to get out of there. I hopped into the backseat of Ash's car, relief flooding my body as soon as I hit the leather seats. I was silent on the way to school. May's usual chit chat got on my last nerves and I almost went off on her more than once.

When we pulled up to the school she hopped out. I hesitated, though.

"Are you coming?" She asked once she realized I wasn't right there behind her.

I shook my head. "No, I don't feel good. I think I'm going to have Ash take me back home. I'm not going to school." I shifted my attention to Ash. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, I'll drop you back off." He answered coolly.

"Okay, call me later." May said before walking away.

I hopped into the front seat and Ash skirted off in the direction of my house.

"I'm not going home." I said. "I need your help. I need you to go to a drug store and then a hotel."

He raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Drug store? A hotel?" I could see his eyebrows arch with excitement.

"Please, Ash. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's not like that!"

"Why in the world do you need to-"

I cut him off. "Please, Ash, don't ask questions right now. I really need you to do this for me. You are the only person that I can ask. I'm in trouble and you're the only person I trust.

Seeing that I was so serious, he nodded. "Okay, Dawn, I'll help you out." He drove me to the first drug store that we passed.

I ran into the store and got a home pregnancy test. I was ashamed and embarrassed when the store clerk rang up the item. It felt like everybody in line was watching me. Besides, what was a teenage girl doing purchasing a pregnancy test anyway? I wished I wasn't the one who was going through the dilemma, but I put myself at risk when I decided to sleep with Paul. I was beginning to think that saying was true. The only way to protect yourself from sex was by not having it at all.

I asked the clerk to double the bag so that Ash would not be able to see through it. I didn't want him to know yet, because if it turned out that what I wasn't pregnant, then I would not tell him what was going on.

We drove to a hotel, and since he was over eighteen, he got the room. I went in separately so that no one would get suspicious. The last thing I needed was to get caught in the room with Ash.

I rushed into the bathroom and locked it behind me.

_Knock, Knock_

"Dawn, are you okay? You're acting kind of weird."

"I'll be out in a minute." I yelled.

I sat down on the toilet seat. My heart was beating out of my chest. I thought I would have a heart attack. My hands fumbled to open the box. I read the instructions and followed them carefully, peeing in the little stick. I was shaking so badly that I made a mess. To make things worse, I had to wait an entire three minutes to get the results. Three minutes felt like thirty, until finally a pale pink strip appeared. I read the box over and over again, but the meaning of the result didn't change.

"Oh my God." I whispered and began to cry. "Ash!" Ash tried to open the door, but it was still locked and my legs felt like noodles. They were too weak for me to stand and let him in. "Ash!" I cried.

He barreled through the door and picked me up from the floor. His eyes scanned the room until he saw the pregnancy kit. "Are you?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant. My life is over." I muttered. "I'm so stupid."

He picked me up from the floor and took me into the room to lie me on the bed. "It's alright, Dawn. Everything is going to be alright." He said.

I knew he was just trying to pacify me. There was no way things were going to be to be fine. I was in high school and pregnant. My aunt was going to kill me. But sadly, my aunt wasn't the only one I was worrying about disappointing. I looked up to the heavens and I softly whispered, "Sorry mommy."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Dawn is pregnant O_O... did anyone think that will happen? Or did anyone even think about that? If you did then tell me and be honest lol. Well, I honestly don't have anything to say at the moment xD except review please :) and the next update should be on...Friday MAYBE because I have my first basketball game to cheer -.-...so if I do update it'll be late Friday night, like at 12 or 11. So yeah :) Bye guys.<strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes: :D Okay, so this really wasn't going to update today, but you guy's reveiws just got me so~ excited xD lol. No one was really expecting that xD. That's what made me so anxious to put up this up so quickly :) lol. Hehe, well, I don't have anything else to say so~...proceed to read :)**

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><p>After taking the test and Ash comforting me a little while, I knew that I couldn't stay in that room forever. But I knew I couldn't go back home either. I needed help in the worst way. Even though I appreciated Ash being there for me, he just couldn't give me the help I needed. I went to the only place that I could think if for help. I went to Ms. Ketchum, the high school guidance counselor.<p>

I remembered her friendly face on the first day of school and I knew that she was my only option. I had Ash drop me off at school.

**(A/N:** **THIS IS** **WHERE EVERYTHING** **STOPS AND** **THE STORY GOES BACK** **TO** **WHEN** **SHE** **WAS** **IN** **THE** **GUIDANCE OFFICE** **FROM** **THE** **PROLOUGE (REMEMBER** **SHE ****WAS REMINISCING)** **IF ****YOU NEED TO GO BACK AN READ THE PROLOUGE TO REMEMBER THAN GO AHEAD! SHE'S DONE THINKING ABOUT THE EVENTS THAT LED UP TO THIS PART! JUST THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW BECAUSE I DON'T WANT ANY CONFUSION!)**

And that is how I ended up here. In Ms. Ketchum's office.

"I'm pregnant!" I blurted out as a tear trail blazed down my cheeks. It felt so good to just say those words, like some of the weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It was as if now that I had admitted it to someone else, I was admitting it to myself. I doubled over in petite sobs and buried my face in my hands. How could I have been so stupid to get caught up like this?

"Oh, Dawn." Ms. Ketchum sympathized as she stood and walked around to kneel beside my chair. Her comforting hand rubbed my back as she allowed me to release everything I felt inside. "Let it out, sweetheart. Cry your heart out. When you are done, I will help you. We will discuss your options."

Unable to speak and with sobs invading the pit of my stomach, I cried relentlessly. I cried so hard that my sobs became heaves of dry air and then finally there was nothing left. I emptied out my soul right there in my counselor's office. Now I was left with confusion, red eyes, and despair. "How did I get myself into this?" I asked. "Why is this happening to me? Why me?"

"Listen, honey, unfortunately, young girls like you all over the region ask themselves that every single day. But I'm going to tell you what I would tell any of those girls. God has a plan for everybody, Dawn." Ms. Ketchum smiled. Although her smile was like a healing ointment to the pain I was feeling inside, I couldn't fix my own lips to display such optimism. "Now you just have to figure out what your plan is." She continued. "I know that you feel lost right now, but I am here for you; in any way that you need me to be." Ms. Ketchum stood up straight, took a deep breath and then asked, "Does your aunt know yet?"

I shook my head and felt the tears return. "No ma'am. And there is no 'yet'. My aunt is the last person in the world that I want to find out. If she finds out, she's going to kill me." I was not hypothetically speaking. My aunt was going to kill me if she found out I was carrying a child. I was not playing. She was literally going to choke the life out of me.

My aunt Joy had made it clear from the first day I had come to live with her that she was not into raising babies that she didn't birth herself. That if I even thought about coming around with a baby, both me and the baby would be out on the street. I remember the first day of this school year when I got all dressed up. She snatched me right up by the arm before I sauntered out the door knowing I was the stuff.

I knew she wasn't joking. She wasn't even completely sold on the idea of playing mommy to her sister's child, let along playing the role of grandmother at forty. Here I had done everything she told me not to. I knew beyond a double that she wouldn't be the kind, loving and understanding custodial guardian like all of those actresses cast in movies. She barely wanted to be bothered with me, so I knew that she would have a heart attack once she found out I was pregnant.

I had been living with my aunt for about a year now. She was my mother's sister and had agreed to take me in after my mother was murdered. Thankfully, my aunt Joy was there to keep me from having to go to a foster home or something.

Although I did not doubt that my aunt loved me, I did suspect that she did not appreciate me intruding in her everyday life. I had been a nice that she'd only seen on major holidays. After my mom died, I became a permanent everyday fixture in her life. Now that I, too, was in a predicament to have a permanent fixture in my life, I could only imagine what she would do once she found out. Knowing my aunt Joy, she would do exactly what she said she'd do.

"I can't tell her." I enforced Ms. Ketchum. "And I don't want you to tell her either." I shook my head and, once again, I shuddered at the thought of my aunt finding out. "I don't want to tell her. I don't know what she's going to say, or even worse, what she is going to do." I admitted. "But I do know she's going to hate me. She's going to put me out and then I'll have nowhere to go. I'll be living on the streets somewhere. And you know me Ms. Ketchum, I am not one to be able to live on anyone's streets."

I shook my head, for a minute falling back into my prideful ways. Everyone knew me as the hottest girl at school. What would I look like turning up homeless? I was getting all caught up in what other people would think of me. Just as soon as I felt the queasiness in my stomach, I was once again knocked down a peg or two, reminded of the terrible fix I was in.

"I highly doubt that, Dawn." Ms. Ketchum replied. "She is your family. She loves you, and because she loves you I'm sure she only wants the best for you and has plans of you graduating high school and going to college. So, yes, she will probably be disappointed, but no matter what you do, she can never hate you, or put you out on the streets like a dog. Yeah, finishing high school and going on to college while raising a baby is going to be challenging, but it can be done. But no matter how grown and independent you think you might be, you are still going to need the help off the people who care about you. And I know your aunt cares about you, Dawn."

I was listening to ever word Ms. Ketchum was saying, but I wasn't trying to hear it. She could tell she was getting through to me by the way I rolled my eyes upward and turned my head. No disrespect was meant, but I refused to tell my aunt no matter how much she made it sound as though it was the right thing to do.

Ms. Ketchum let out a sigh of defeat. "Look, Dawn, I will even help you tell her if you'd like me to."

I could see she wasn't going to let up. I respected her enough to know that she wouldn't give me wrong advice. So I thought for a minute as I wiped the remnant of tears from my face while reconsidering everything she'd said. "I don't know. I just don't think I can." I told her.

"You have to, Dawn. This isn't something that you can keep from your aunt. She has to know. Besides, it will get to a point where you have to tell her. I mean, eventually you are going to start showing. What are you going to do when your belly begins to grow? She will know that you are pregnant and will be even more upset that you didn't come to her. Plus, you need medical attention to make sure that your baby is healthy. Prenatal care is very important for both the well being of yourself and your baby. No matter what decision you make regarding your pregnancy, you are going to have to eventually tell your aunt anyway. More than likely, since you are underage, you will need to sign some type of paperwork. Trust me when I tell you this, Dawn, you are not ready to handle this by yourself." Ms. Ketchum said firmly. "So why don't you I set up an appointment with your aunt so that together we can tell her what's going on with you?"

"No!" I exclaimed. The more Ms. Ketchum talked about the baby, the more real it became and the more scared I got. I couldn't take care of myself, let alone a baby. I couldn't do this. I couldn't! "I...I...I don't have to tell her if I get an abortion. I don't want this baby. I don't need a baby right now. I'm sure there is a way I can get rid of it without her ever knowing about it." I stated.

"Dawn." Ms. Coleman said with a sigh.

The sad tone in her voice made me look up at her. The tears that had accumulated in her eyes surprised me. I mean, why was she crying? She wasn't the one who was underage, desperate, and pregnant.

"I can't tell you what to do, and I'm not here to pass judgment on you." She said to me with such sincerity. "But I will not let you make this decision on your own. You need to speak with your aunt about this. I can't allow you to make a choice that you might regret in the future. You are young and afraid. I understand that, but this is something that you have to consult your family about. An abortion is a huge decision. There are millions of women who would love to have children but cannot. The life that you are carrying inside of your stomach is precious. You have a responsibility to make the best choice along with your aunt. Even though it is unexpected and untimely, it is a blessing from above."

Right about now I was fed up hearing about God, His plans, and His blessings. I've heard people say that God is good, all the time. Well, this time I couldn't find one thing good when it came to the situation. If God had anything to do with it, if this was part of His plan, and if He thought for a minute me getting knocked up would be a blessing, then I could do without all that God business for sure. I didn't want God's plan, God's blessing, or this baby, and Ms. Ketchum needed to know that no matter what she said.

"I don't want a baby right now." I cried, throwing myself a pity party even though I knew that I only had myself to blame for my current predicament.

"But you have one and now you have to think of not only what's best for you, but for everyone involved. You took it upon yourself to have unprotected sex, so now you have to go about this situation in the right way, and that includes telling your aunt." Ms. Ketchum preached.

"I'm only seventeen." I whispered. "I'm just a baby myself."

"And now it is time for you to grow up." Ms. Ketchum now had sternness about her tone. She walked over to her desk and opened one of her desk drawers. She grabbed her car keys and her purse. She then walked over to her door unlocked it, and said, "Let's go."

"Go? Where are we going?" I asked in confusion. "I still have class to attend."

"I think this is a little bit more important. I will write you a pass to your teachers. We are going to speak with your aunt." Ms. Ketchum looked down at her watch. "She works third shift right? Will she be home now or did she pick up an extra shift?"

I froze and the trepidation that filled my heart caused my breathing to speed up. "What? Right now? But I said I didn't-"

"This is not something that you should procrastinate on." She said, cutting me off. "I'm here for you, Dawn. Don't you trust me?"

I remained silent. Ms. Ketchum looked at me with pleading eyes. Of course I trusted her, but I was just scared, unwed, pregnant, high school teenager.

"You wouldn't have told me what was going on with you if you didn't trust me, Dawn." She said. "I promise, I will help you through this. Let's go deal with your aunt together." She said as she reached for my hand.

I stood from my seat and took her hand as I wiped my face dry. We walked out of the school hand in hand. I managed to keep my eyes dry all the way until we made it out to the parking lot. By then, my tears were like an unstoppable faucet. Ms. Ketchum squeezed my hand reassuringly the entire way to the car.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: How do you guys think her aunt will take it? Hm...you'll see next week ;) unless I get excited over everyone's review again xD, lol. Okay, I really don't have anything else to say except to review please :) Thank you everyone :) <strong>


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes: Well, I never thought I'd be updating a story while I was in class...but when you don't know what you're supposed to be doing and you're bored...this is what happens. So I hope you all enjoy this SHORT chapter :p. Ms. Ketchum and Dawn goes to Aunt Joy...**

**To: I-am-THE-Pearlshipper999, first, thanks for your review :) Glad that you like the story. Second: I won't get hurt in any kind of way with this story? I don't even know how I can get hurt O_o. Third: I honestly don't care what Advanceshippers and Pokeshippers think of Dawn and YOU SHOULDN'T either. It's THEIR OPINION of her. And this is a FICTION (FAKE) story: SHE'S OOC! This is NOT how she really acts, so why would they say something about it when she's OOC? So, like I said before...I don't care what Pokeshippers and Advanceshippers think. Us Pearlshippers know how Dawn REALLY is, so why should we care what anyone else has to say? Besides, they might not like Pearlshipping, so they will have something about Dawn. They will try to trash her in any way possible. So it's their opinions on her. With that said, I'm finished :) Please, don't take that message the wrong way. I just had to say that. And BTW: Dawn isn't a whore in this fic -_- Whores are girls who f-ck any AND everybody! So...I don't make her like a whore in this fic. She only did it once and it was a mistake...**

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><p>Ms. Ketchum drove to the hospital where my aunt worked and we sat nervously in the hospital waiting room as we waited for the desk nurse to locate my aunt.<p>

Twenty minutes later, Auntie Joy came rushing through the white double doors. "Dawn?" She called out frantically. "What's wrong, baby? What's going on?" My aunt was frantic. I guess when she was told that I was at the hospital she thought I might have been hurt or something.

Ms. Ketchum stood up and extended her hand. "Hello, my name is Delia Ketchum. I'm Dawn's counselor."

Aunt Joy looked from Ms. Ketchum to me in confusion. "What happened? Is everything okay?" She grabbed me by the arms and examined me as if she expected to find me bruised up or something. Once she saw that I was physically okay, she released me and gave me a stern look as she said to Ms. Ketchum. "Is she in trouble again?" She looked back to me. "Have you been at school fighting? I'm telling you, Missy, if you get suspended again-"

"Is there somewhere we can sit down and talk?" Ms. Ketchum asked, cutting my aunt off.

I looked up and gave Ms. Ketchum a 'See, I told you so' look.

Auntie Joy's eyes burned a hole through me, but I never look up at her. I couldn't. I was too ashamed.

"Yeah, we can go to the cafeteria." Aunt Joy said as she led they way.

Ms. Ketchum ordered a cup of coffee for herself and I declined her offer for anything. Then we all sat down.

"Look, I know you are on the clock, so we won't waste your time beating around the bush." Ms. Ketchum looked at me. "Dawn has something she wants to tell you." Ms. Ketchum began. "I urge you to please hear her out and keep in mind that she is young and is probably terrified right now."

"Will you quit talking in circles and tell me what is going on?" Auntie Joy exclaimed.

I was silent...

"Dawn!" My aunt yelled.

"I'm pregnant." I whispered.

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Aunt Joy said as she stood up. Her anger put fear in my heart. "I have warned you time and time again about being grown, about growing up too quickly."

"Please, could you just sit down?" Ms. Ketchum said, noticing all eyes were on us due to my aunt's outburst.

I couldn't even respond. All I could do was cry. In fact, I bawled as Ms. Ketchum rubbed my back in an effort to calm me down.

"I think we all should calm down. Dawn is in a serious situation and we need to think about the options." Ms. Ketchum stated.

"The options? We? This is Dawn's problem." My aunt told Ms. Ketchum. "Unless you are going to let her come and live with you, there is no we. She wanted to be grown, so now she is grown. I'm not spending my hard earned money on an abortion, or baby that I did not birth. She is on her own. She needs to get a job and she needs to clean up her own mess, because I'm done."

"I'm sorry." I said.

"You sure are." Aunt Joy replied. "I have to get back to work. Dawn, you have three months to get a job and find a place to stay. I told you before you got yourself into this. This is your problem, not mine."

And just like that, I was on my own.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Well...I don't know what to say now xD. Aunt Joy was...Aunt Joy? Hm...I'm speechless right now xD, so lol please review :) The next chapter, which is the last will be up Friday night.<strong>


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: Well, everyone, this is it. The last chapter of Glitter. I'm kind of sad that this is the last chapter /: T**his chapter, kind of continues from the last, only for a little though. You'll just see. Well, it only continues from the conversation with Aunt Joy, Dawn, and Ms. Ketchum then it changes. And I know I said I was going to update tonight, but I'm not going to Dance tonight because my throat is really sore and I'm not feeling too good /: but on the bright side, you all get updates :D.****

**Oh yeah, someone asked me why I named this story Glitter :). Well, this is how: One day, I don't know why so don't ask, I was thinking about the saying "All that _Glitters _isn't gold" and I'm not sure how, but I just thought of this whole story plot from that one statement. You know Dawn met Paul and they started dating and she thought that he was the one? Paul is the Glitter in that statement. And then they do 'it' and he dumps her. And that's where the part Isn't gold comes in. So what Dawn THOUGHT he was, he ended up not being. Basically, something isn't always what it seems. So I named the story Glitter :). Does that make sense to anyone? Like, do you get where I'm coming from? :) Hope that answers your question and hopefully clears up for anyone who wasn't sure why this was called Glitter :)**

**Alright, I'm done talking :) You may now read :D Hope everyone enjoys the last chapter :)**

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><p>Ms. Ketchum stood and took my hand. "You know what?" She said to my auntie Joy before she could stomp all the way off. "Everyone makes mistakes. Dawn doesn't need your ridicule. She's only a child. She needs your support. This is how we lose our young girls to the system, by making them feel that no one is supporting them. She's not asking you to raise her baby. She's just asking for your support."<p>

"Well she does not have it." My aunt turned and snapped as she walked back towards the table. "When her mother died, I took her in and this is how she repays me." Aunt Joy sneered at me and then turned her back on me. I knew that our relationship would never be the same. Ms. Ketchum knew that no matter what she said at this point, my aunt's mind was made up.

Ms. Ketchum and I walked out of the hospital together. I was distraught and did not know what to do. It was clear that Auntie Joy was not going to stand in the corner for this, but I wasn't strong enough to face this alone.

"What am I going to do? I'm all alone. I don't have anywhere to turn." I said. I looked at Ms. Ketchum and could see tears building in her eyes. She gave me a smile and a pat on the hand.

"You are not alone, Dawn. You have me. We will go and get your things from your aunt's house. You can stay with me until we figure this out." Ms. Ketchum stated. "You don't need the stress of her ranting and raving right now. From the sounds of it, your aunt isn't going to have a problem with you coming to stay with me for a while."

I was quiet, not because I didn't have much to say, but because I didn't know what to say first. I wanted to apologize to her for getting her involved in my problems, and to ask her why she was being so nice, but I couldn't find the words. Instead, I sat in her passenger seat and rode in silence while my mind tried to wrap itself around upcoming motherhood.

We went to pack my things, and just as she promised, she welcomed me into her home. She lived in a three bedroom ranch style home just on the outskirts out Kanto. It was nice with a quaint lawn and two car garage. Her taste was elaborate and her home chic. I was impressed.

"Come on in and make yourself comfortable." She invited. "You can take the bedroom down the hall on the left."

"Thank you." My voice was so genuine and full of emotion. I was grateful for her help, but I still did not know how long it was going to last.

"While you unpack, I'm going to make some calls and find you a good doctor. We have to figure out how far along you are."

I nodded and retreated to the comfortable space that had become mine.

Ms. Ketchum was able to get me into the doctor's office the next afternoon. Ms. Ketchum was kind enough to write me an excuse from class and take me on her lunch break. We walked into the doctor's office and I checked in with the receptionist. I was so afraid. All that morning I had been experiencing morning sickness, and it seemed like ever since I confirmed I was pregnant, my body felt weird all over. I didn't want to be there. I was ashamed and did not know what to expect.

Ms. Ketchum said that the next couple of days she would take me to do all the things that I needed to do to get the ball rolling with my pregnancy. The next day, after school, she'd scheduled me an appointment at the WIC offices so that I could sign up for the things that they give expectant mothers. She also planned to take me to the social service office so that I could sign up for healthcare for me and my baby.

Just in case I did decide to go all the way through with this pregnancy, I was relieved to know that there were State programs that would help me get through this. I never pictured myself as one of those girls who got stuck on welfare, but here I was. I had a belly full of baby and my hand was waiting for some government assistance. I couldn't help but think if my mommy was alive my life would have never gone down this path.

"Dawn Berlitz."

I jumped when my name was called by the nurse.

"It's okay." Ms. Ketchum whispered. "I'm right here with you."

I got up and followed the nurse into the examination room. I felt like I had to throw up when I saw the bed and mental contraptions that were on the counter beside the bed. "What is all of this?" I asked.

The doctor entered the room smiling warmly. She was older woman who wore a white lab jacket. "Hell, Dawn. I'm Dr. Neely. I will be your doctor throughout the length of your pregnancy." She held out her hand to me and I shook it. Her hands were warm and soft, while her touch was motherly and comforting. "I take it you have never had a pap smear before?"

"A pap what?" I asked.

Ms. Ketchum and Dr. Neely laughed lightly. The nurse chuckled as well as she exited the room, leaving the doctor to tend to her business with me.

"Don't worry, Dawn. I am going to take good care of you and your baby. I've been doing this for a very long time." Dr. Neely assured. "As a matter of fact, I've been taking care of Ms. Ketchum here for a very long time as well." She looked up at Ms. Ketchum, and smiled, then turned her attention back towards me. "Ms. Ketchum and I are going to go in the hallway and talk while you get undressed. When you are done, lie on the table and put your feet in the stirrups."

I nodded, and when they walked out, I followed her instructions. Minutes later they were back. Ms. Ketchum stood at the head of the bed, holding my hand and Dr. Neely took a seat between my legs. I instinctively closed them to shield her from seeing my private areas.

"I'm going to open your legs and give you an exam. I will have to put my hands down there, okay?" The doctor informed me.

"Okay." I responded. I took a deep breath to calm down. Just the fact that she was explaining things to me step by step made it easier. I was glad that Ms. Ketchum had chose Dr. Neely. My body tensed and I cringed in pain as she put different tools and instruments in places that I felt they shouldn't be.

"How often do you have sex, Dawn?" The doctor asked while she examined me.

"I don't. I-I mean, I've only done it once." I replied.

"Okay, well this may hurt a bit, so tell me if it hurts too badly and we'll stop okay?"

"Okay."

She fiddled around some more for about one or two minutes, and when she was done, I sighed in relief. She then brought a monitor over to my bedside. She put some warm gel on my stomach and put what looked like a microscope on my stomach. A steady beat filled the room and I saw a tiny spot of white on the screen that was beside the bed up near my head.

"This is your baby and that sound you are hearing is your baby's heartbeat." Dr. Neely explained. I was afraid, but I smiled at the calm rhythm.

"How far along is she?" Ms. Ketchum asked.

"I would say nine weeks." Dr. Neely confirmed. "So you have seven months ahead of you."

Ms. Ketchum and I looked at each other. She smiled and so did I, although I wasn't happy about having a baby. I wanted to talk to Ms. Ketchum about an abortion, but I didn't know how to tell her. After getting an ultrasound printed, I left the doctor with a new prescription for prenatal vitamins.

"Ms. Ketchum, I want to thank you for letting me stay with you." I said as she drove us back to the school. "I know you did not have to do everything you just did, going to the doctors with me and all. As a matter of fact, I really shouldn't have even been in there." I stated.

"Why not?"

"I think I want abortion." I blurted out quickly.

Ms. Ketchum brought the car to a stop in the middle of the road. "Oh, Dawn. You have been blessed with something special. Have you thought about this?"

"I just don't want a baby. I'm too young and I can't take care of a baby. I'm just not ready." I admitted. "I hate to say it, but my auntie is right she's been right all along. I should have listened to her."

"I know how you feel." Ms. Ketchum started until I cut her off.

"All adults say that, but you can't possibly-"

Not it was her turn to cut me off.

"When I was in high school I had an abortion." She confessed. "I was just like you. I was so afraid to tell my mother that I went to an unlicensed clinic. The abortion worked, but it was done incorrectly and robbed me of the ability to ever have children. Don't make the same mistake I made, Dawn. Please be sure about this. There are a million woman like me who would love to be in your shoes. I will even help you with your baby. You can stay with me as long as you need to."

"I don't have anyone. I don't want my baby to not have anyone."

"What if I told you that I wanted to adopt your baby, Dawn? If you are dead set on not wanting to be a mother, I would be honored to raise your baby."

"You would do that for me?" I asked. The thought of giving my baby up for adoption had crossed my mind. I thought about giving my child up and selfishly it seemed like a great solution to my problem. No matter what way I looked at it, I did not want a baby, and if I could make Ms. Ketchum's life more complete by giving up my baby to her, then I was willing to do it. I could go back to being a regular teenager and I wouldn't feel guilty about killing an innocent life. I knew that any child would be lucky to have Ms. Ketchum for a mother.

"Dawn, you would be giving me a blessing. I would be honored to be a mother to that child growing inside you." She said.

I leaned over and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." I looked out of the window up at the sky and silently thanked God, too. Ms. Ketchum had been right about what she'd said before, God did have plan.

"No, thank you, Dawn." Ms. Ketchum smiled the entire way back to school.

Ms. Ketchum and I thought it would be better if no one knew about my pregnancy. I was home schooled for the next seven months. The only other person who knew about it was Ash, and he promised not to tell May about it. He came to see me faithfully, refusing to give up our friendship just because I was knocked up. I didn't even tell Paul. It wasn't his decision to make, and when I was asked who the father of my child was, I always said that I did not know. I didn't want there to be any issues when it came time for Ms. Ketchum to adopt the baby and for me to relinquish my parental rights.

My Aunt didn't put up a fight in allowing me to stay with Ms. Ketchum. She was glad to wash her hands of the situation. Ms. Ketchum and I grew close, but it still didn't fill the void of not having my blood there for me. She helped me deal with the changes that my body was going through, and believe me, it went through a LOT of changes.

My breast swelled two times their normal size and they were sore all the time. Even the steady beat from the shower head was too intense for the sensitive melons that my breasts had become. To make matters worse, they leaked. Can you say NASTY! I was so disgusted with myself. My nose spread, which made me look like a monkey, and it seemed like I picked up another pound every single day. Ms. Ketchum thought I glowed. I told her that I sweated. She would laugh when I would complain, but she helped me through every single stop of the way.

I knew that my body was going through something that it was not prepared to endure. I was a baby myself, a baby having a baby. The only good thing that had come out of it was that my hair was growing like crazy. I was always tired and there was nothing attractive, or fun, about being the size of a baby whale. I looked at my Auntie Joy letting me stay with Ms. Ketchum was a double plus, because I was probably too big to even fit in my aunt's little house anymore.

My aunt and I didn't really speak much after that day in the hospital. I called and told her what Ms. Ketchum and I planned to do, but she never invited me to come back home, so I never asked her if I could. I was happy with Ms. Ketchum. She treated me with respect and she taught me more things in those seven months about being a woman than I had learned my entire life.

I regretted having sex with Paul. That on night of passion, that was not passionate at all, was not worth the lifetime pain that I had created for myself. I should have told him no. I was young and free, with the entire world ahead of me. I jeopardized that by giving myself to someone who wasn't my husband. I thought about all of the other young girls who didn't have a Ms. Ketchum to bail them out of teenage pregnancy. I was very fortunate to have her in my life. A woman like her was a blessing. I knew that she would give my baby (Well, her baby) everything that I could not. She was going to be a great mother.

I felt cut off and shielded from the world, but I knew that it was how it had to be unless I wanted to explain my protruding belly. I told May that I had moved out of town to attend a performing arts academy for the remainder of the year and Ash kept his promise to me. He was a really great guy and he sometimes made references about me being his girlfriend, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I was still carrying a baby by my supposed first boyfriend. I was still in high school and was already over teenage relationships. He respected and understood how I felt, so we remained very, very close friends. Surprisingly he was with me all the way until the end.

On November 23, 2011, I was studying with Ash while Ms. Ketchum made us all dinner in the kitchen. All of a sudden I felt the sudden urge to pee. When I stood up a gush of water flowed from between my thighs.

"Oh my god! I think my water broke!" I announced loudly as my eyes bugged out.

"Ms. Ketchum! Her water broke!" Ash said, hollering in panic. He calmed down enough to sit me back down in the chair.

Ms. Ketchum rushed into the room. When she saw the panic in my eyes, and in Ash's, she set into motion. "Okay, Ash first you calm down and go get the overnight bag from the nursery. I'll call Dr. Neely and let her know we're on the way. Dawn, sit tight sweetheart. Are you in pain?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel good either. There is like a lot of pressure down there."

Ms. Ketchum placed the call and minutes later we were out the door. She drove swiftly but cautiously to the hospital and had Ash to go and park the car while we went directly into emergency.

I was wheeled up to the maternity ward. As soon as the elevator doors opened I saw Dr. Neely's smiling face. "Are you ready for this?" She asked.

"No." I said honestly.

"Well, that baby is coming, so you better get ready." She said excitedly. It was almost as if she was about to become a mother herself.

I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for this labor. I had been reading up on it and I had discovered that every woman had a different experience when it came to giving birth. The one thing I feared most was the pain, and I was beginning to feel contractions already.

Just as I was being escorted into the birthing center, Ash emerged from the elevators looking pretty calm...on the outside.

"Wait!" He yelled. He jogged over to us and asked, "Can I come too? I want to be here for Dawn."

Ms. Ketchum looked at me and nodded. I was sweating profusely and breathing deeply. As that moment I didn't care who came into the room with me, as long as they got me in there. I was so ready to have this baby that I didn't know what to do.

"Okay, let's rock and roll. We have to get you an epidural quickly. You're too young to take this naturally. We don't want your body to go into shock."

Dr. Neely exited the room and then came back with a couple of other people. One explained that he would be injecting the epidural and, shortly after, he produced one of the biggest needles I had ever seen in my life. I closed my eyes as it penetrated my skin.

"Ow!" I yelled angrily.

"Don't worry; you won't be able to feel anything in a minute." Ms. Ketchum said.

Moments later my entire bottom half felt numb, but I could still feel the pressure. It made me feel like I wanted to push. My body was tired, weak, and uncomfortable. Those contractions literally felt like they were ripping my butt apart, but Ash and Ms. Ketchum were right by my side. I yelled at them, and cussed them out the entire time, but they never left. They were stuck to me like glue. I appreciated them because I knew that I could have never done this alone.

After seven house and twenty minutes of labor, I was relieved to hear the screeching screams of a baby.

"It's a boy!" Dr. Neely announced. "It's a beautiful, healthy, baby boy!"

I looked up and took one look at the wrinkled, slimy baby, then collapsed from exhaustion.

I awoke a couple of hours later. I hurt everywhere, but the sight before me brought tears to my eyes. Ms. Ketchum sat at my bedside with the baby in her arms and Ash was knocked out in the corner chair.

"Is he okay?" I whispered. My throat and lips were dry. Ms. Ketchum stood and handed me the baby. She then grabbed a cup of water and put it to my lips. I gratefully sipped it.

"He is more than okay, Dawn. He's beautiful. He's your son if you want him to be." She said with tears of joy in her eyes.

I admired the baby in my arms. He was so tiny and he looked just like me. We had the exact same skin tone. He had my eyes and nose and even my hair color - except his was just a even darker blue, kind of looking close to black but you could see that it was blue. He was my baby, but I knew that I could never give him the life that he deserved. I was way too young. He was a mistake that I wasn't ready to handle. I had to think about him and do what was best for him.

"No, he is your baby, Ms. Ketchum. I want you to have him. I know that you will love him and take care of him, the same way you did for his mother." I smiled. "I trust you."

Ms. Ketchum leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "Dawn, I would like for you to be a part of my family. I know you don't have anywhere to go. You would make a great big sister to him."

"Big sister?"

Ms. Ketchum nodded. "I want to adopt you both. That way you can still be a part of his life. He will be my son, but you will be my daughter as well. We'll be a family."

Tears flowed down my face. She didn't know how much she had blessed my life in such a short period of time. I was supposed to be another teenage mother. I had made the mistake of having premarital sex at a young age. It was something that I wished I could take back, but the deed was done. The baby was here and I couldn't take it back, but I could live right from now on. I could learn from my mistakes and be a great daughter to Ms. Ketchum and a great sister to this baby.

"I would love to be his big sister. Thank you, Ms. Ketchum." I said between sobs.

"You are more than welcome, Dawn, and when you are ready, you can start calling me Mom." She said. "What do you want to name him?" She asked.

"I get to name him?" I could not believe she was giving me the privilege.

"Why not? I think you deserve to do at least that." She said.

I looked at Ash who was sleeping in the corner and smiled. He was such a great friend. He had stood by my side and kept secrets that others would have told. I knew that once I got myself together that he would be my boyfriend, but for now, he was my inspiration.

"Ash Ketchum."

Ms. Ketchum, I mean my new mom looked back at Ash and smiled. "That's a fine name."

In a couple of weeks, just as she'd promised, Ms. Ketchum held out the adoption papers for me and little Ash. I signed without hesitation on the dotted line. I was happy that she had rescued me from the perils of teenage mother hood and I vowed that I would never lose my focus again. Sex was for grown, married women and I was not that. I decided then and there to make my new mom proud and slow down to enjoy being me, an immature, carefree, teenager that was focused on things that girls my age focused on. I had learned my lesson. I just hoped that all the other young girls out there would not have to go through what I went through to know that the best form of protected sex is no sex at all.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Alright, that was the last chapter of Glitter. I hope you all enjoyed the whole story :D. I had fun writing it :). Now, I'm kind of sad that it's over : But, this happens to a lot of girls and it's actually quite sad. NO, this HAS NOT happened to me if anyone thinks that. I'm smarter than that. I'm not easy to fool when it comes to boys and their mind games. I'm not saying that every boy is like that because not all of them are :D but you just have to be careful, you know? **

**I would like to thank everyone that read and reviewed this story :D. I kept this going because of you all :D. So, I would like to thank you all for sticking with me through this whole story :D.**

**Well, again, I hope everyone enjoyed this story and again thanks to everyone who stuck with me through the entire story :D. I love you all! :D**


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes: Well, everyone, this is it. The last chapter of Glitter. I'm kind of sad that this is the last chapter /: T**his chapter, kind of continues from the last, only for a little though. You'll just see. Well, it only continues from the conversation with Aunt Joy, Dawn, and Ms. Ketchum then it changes. And I know I said I was going to update tonight, but I'm not going to Dance tonight because my throat is really sore and I'm not feeling too good /: but on the bright side, you all get updates :D.****

**Oh yeah, someone asked me why I named this story Glitter :). Well, this is how: One day, I don't know why so don't ask, I was thinking about the saying "All that _Glitters _isn't gold" and I'm not sure how, but I just thought of this whole story plot from that one statement. You know Dawn met Paul and they started dating and she thought that he was the one? Paul is the Glitter in that statement. And then they do 'it' and he dumps her. And that's where the part Isn't gold comes in. So what Dawn THOUGHT he was, he ended up not being. Basically, something isn't always what it seems. So I named the story Glitter :). Does that make sense to anyone? Like, do you get where I'm coming from? :) Hope that answers your question and hopefully clears up for anyone who wasn't sure why this was called Glitter :)**

**Alright, I'm done talking :) You may now read :D Hope everyone enjoys the last chapter :)**

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><p>Ms. Ketchum stood and took my hand. "You know what?" She said to my auntie Joy before she could stomp all the way off. "Everyone makes mistakes. Dawn doesn't need your ridicule. She's only a child. She needs your support. This is how we lose our young girls to the system, by making them feel that no one is supporting them. She's not asking you to raise her baby. She's just asking for your support."<p>

"Well she does not have it." My aunt turned and snapped as she walked back towards the table. "When her mother died, I took her in and this is how she repays me." Aunt Joy sneered at me and then turned her back on me. I knew that our relationship would never be the same. Ms. Ketchum knew that no matter what she said at this point, my aunt's mind was made up.

Ms. Ketchum and I walked out of the hospital together. I was distraught and did not know what to do. It was clear that Auntie Joy was not going to stand in the corner for this, but I wasn't strong enough to face this alone.

"What am I going to do? I'm all alone. I don't have anywhere to turn." I said. I looked at Ms. Ketchum and could see tears building in her eyes. She gave me a smile and a pat on the hand.

"You are not alone, Dawn. You have me. We will go and get your things from your aunt's house. You can stay with me until we figure this out." Ms. Ketchum stated. "You don't need the stress of her ranting and raving right now. From the sounds of it, your aunt isn't going to have a problem with you coming to stay with me for a while."

I was quiet, not because I didn't have much to say, but because I didn't know what to say first. I wanted to apologize to her for getting her involved in my problems, and to ask her why she was being so nice, but I couldn't find the words. Instead, I sat in her passenger seat and rode in silence while my mind tried to wrap itself around upcoming motherhood.

We went to pack my things, and just as she promised, she welcomed me into her home. She lived in a three bedroom ranch style home just on the outskirts out Kanto. It was nice with a quaint lawn and two car garage. Her taste was elaborate and her home chic. I was impressed.

"Come on in and make yourself comfortable." She invited. "You can take the bedroom down the hall on the left."

"Thank you." My voice was so genuine and full of emotion. I was grateful for her help, but I still did not know how long it was going to last.

"While you unpack, I'm going to make some calls and find you a good doctor. We have to figure out how far along you are."

I nodded and retreated to the comfortable space that had become mine.

Ms. Ketchum was able to get me into the doctor's office the next afternoon. Ms. Ketchum was kind enough to write me an excuse from class and take me on her lunch break. We walked into the doctor's office and I checked in with the receptionist. I was so afraid. All that morning I had been experiencing morning sickness, and it seemed like ever since I confirmed I was pregnant, my body felt weird all over. I didn't want to be there. I was ashamed and did not know what to expect.

Ms. Ketchum said that the next couple of days she would take me to do all the things that I needed to do to get the ball rolling with my pregnancy. The next day, after school, she'd scheduled me an appointment at the WIC offices so that I could sign up for the things that they give expectant mothers. She also planned to take me to the social service office so that I could sign up for healthcare for me and my baby.

Just in case I did decide to go all the way through with this pregnancy, I was relieved to know that there were State programs that would help me get through this. I never pictured myself as one of those girls who got stuck on welfare, but here I was. I had a belly full of baby and my hand was waiting for some government assistance. I couldn't help but think if my mommy was alive my life would have never gone down this path.

"Dawn Berlitz."

I jumped when my name was called by the nurse.

"It's okay." Ms. Ketchum whispered. "I'm right here with you."

I got up and followed the nurse into the examination room. I felt like I had to throw up when I saw the bed and mental contraptions that were on the counter beside the bed. "What is all of this?" I asked.

The doctor entered the room smiling warmly. She was older woman who wore a white lab jacket. "Hell, Dawn. I'm Dr. Neely. I will be your doctor throughout the length of your pregnancy." She held out her hand to me and I shook it. Her hands were warm and soft, while her touch was motherly and comforting. "I take it you have never had a pap smear before?"

"A pap what?" I asked.

Ms. Ketchum and Dr. Neely laughed lightly. The nurse chuckled as well as she exited the room, leaving the doctor to tend to her business with me.

"Don't worry, Dawn. I am going to take good care of you and your baby. I've been doing this for a very long time." Dr. Neely assured. "As a matter of fact, I've been taking care of Ms. Ketchum here for a very long time as well." She looked up at Ms. Ketchum, and smiled, then turned her attention back towards me. "Ms. Ketchum and I are going to go in the hallway and talk while you get undressed. When you are done, lie on the table and put your feet in the stirrups."

I nodded, and when they walked out, I followed her instructions. Minutes later they were back. Ms. Ketchum stood at the head of the bed, holding my hand and Dr. Neely took a seat between my legs. I instinctively closed them to shield her from seeing my private areas.

"I'm going to open your legs and give you an exam. I will have to put my hands down there, okay?" The doctor informed me.

"Okay." I responded. I took a deep breath to calm down. Just the fact that she was explaining things to me step by step made it easier. I was glad that Ms. Ketchum had chose Dr. Neely. My body tensed and I cringed in pain as she put different tools and instruments in places that I felt they shouldn't be.

"How often do you have sex, Dawn?" The doctor asked while she examined me.

"I don't. I-I mean, I've only done it once." I replied.

"Okay, well this may hurt a bit, so tell me if it hurts too badly and we'll stop okay?"

"Okay."

She fiddled around some more for about one or two minutes, and when she was done, I sighed in relief. She then brought a monitor over to my bedside. She put some warm gel on my stomach and put what looked like a microscope on my stomach. A steady beat filled the room and I saw a tiny spot of white on the screen that was beside the bed up near my head.

"This is your baby and that sound you are hearing is your baby's heartbeat." Dr. Neely explained. I was afraid, but I smiled at the calm rhythm.

"How far along is she?" Ms. Ketchum asked.

"I would say nine weeks." Dr. Neely confirmed. "So you have seven months ahead of you."

Ms. Ketchum and I looked at each other. She smiled and so did I, although I wasn't happy about having a baby. I wanted to talk to Ms. Ketchum about an abortion, but I didn't know how to tell her. After getting an ultrasound printed, I left the doctor with a new prescription for prenatal vitamins.

"Ms. Ketchum, I want to thank you for letting me stay with you." I said as she drove us back to the school. "I know you did not have to do everything you just did, going to the doctors with me and all. As a matter of fact, I really shouldn't have even been in there." I stated.

"Why not?"

"I think I want abortion." I blurted out quickly.

Ms. Ketchum brought the car to a stop in the middle of the road. "Oh, Dawn. You have been blessed with something special. Have you thought about this?"

"I just don't want a baby. I'm too young and I can't take care of a baby. I'm just not ready." I admitted. "I hate to say it, but my auntie is right she's been right all along. I should have listened to her."

"I know how you feel." Ms. Ketchum started until I cut her off.

"All adults say that, but you can't possibly-"

Not it was her turn to cut me off.

"When I was in high school I had an abortion." She confessed. "I was just like you. I was so afraid to tell my mother that I went to an unlicensed clinic. The abortion worked, but it was done incorrectly and robbed me of the ability to ever have children. Don't make the same mistake I made, Dawn. Please be sure about this. There are a million woman like me who would love to be in your shoes. I will even help you with your baby. You can stay with me as long as you need to."

"I don't have anyone. I don't want my baby to not have anyone."

"What if I told you that I wanted to adopt your baby, Dawn? If you are dead set on not wanting to be a mother, I would be honored to raise your baby."

"You would do that for me?" I asked. The thought of giving my baby up for adoption had crossed my mind. I thought about giving my child up and selfishly it seemed like a great solution to my problem. No matter what way I looked at it, I did not want a baby, and if I could make Ms. Ketchum's life more complete by giving up my baby to her, then I was willing to do it. I could go back to being a regular teenager and I wouldn't feel guilty about killing an innocent life. I knew that any child would be lucky to have Ms. Ketchum for a mother.

"Dawn, you would be giving me a blessing. I would be honored to be a mother to that child growing inside you." She said.

I leaned over and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." I looked out of the window up at the sky and silently thanked God, too. Ms. Ketchum had been right about what she'd said before, God did have plan.

"No, thank you, Dawn." Ms. Ketchum smiled the entire way back to school.

Ms. Ketchum and I thought it would be better if no one knew about my pregnancy. I was home schooled for the next seven months. The only other person who knew about it was Ash, and he promised not to tell May about it. He came to see me faithfully, refusing to give up our friendship just because I was knocked up. I didn't even tell Paul. It wasn't his decision to make, and when I was asked who the father of my child was, I always said that I did not know. I didn't want there to be any issues when it came time for Ms. Ketchum to adopt the baby and for me to relinquish my parental rights.

My Aunt didn't put up a fight in allowing me to stay with Ms. Ketchum. She was glad to wash her hands of the situation. Ms. Ketchum and I grew close, but it still didn't fill the void of not having my blood there for me. She helped me deal with the changes that my body was going through, and believe me, it went through a LOT of changes.

My breast swelled two times their normal size and they were sore all the time. Even the steady beat from the shower head was too intense for the sensitive melons that my breasts had become. To make matters worse, they leaked. Can you say NASTY! I was so disgusted with myself. My nose spread, which made me look like a monkey, and it seemed like I picked up another pound every single day. Ms. Ketchum thought I glowed. I told her that I sweated. She would laugh when I would complain, but she helped me through every single stop of the way.

I knew that my body was going through something that it was not prepared to endure. I was a baby myself, a baby having a baby. The only good thing that had come out of it was that my hair was growing like crazy. I was always tired and there was nothing attractive, or fun, about being the size of a baby whale. I looked at my Auntie Joy letting me stay with Ms. Ketchum was a double plus, because I was probably too big to even fit in my aunt's little house anymore.

My aunt and I didn't really speak much after that day in the hospital. I called and told her what Ms. Ketchum and I planned to do, but she never invited me to come back home, so I never asked her if I could. I was happy with Ms. Ketchum. She treated me with respect and she taught me more things in those seven months about being a woman than I had learned my entire life.

I regretted having sex with Paul. That on night of passion, that was not passionate at all, was not worth the lifetime pain that I had created for myself. I should have told him no. I was young and free, with the entire world ahead of me. I jeopardized that by giving myself to someone who wasn't my husband. I thought about all of the other young girls who didn't have a Ms. Ketchum to bail them out of teenage pregnancy. I was very fortunate to have her in my life. A woman like her was a blessing. I knew that she would give my baby (Well, her baby) everything that I could not. She was going to be a great mother.

I felt cut off and shielded from the world, but I knew that it was how it had to be unless I wanted to explain my protruding belly. I told May that I had moved out of town to attend a performing arts academy for the remainder of the year and Ash kept his promise to me. He was a really great guy and he sometimes made references about me being his girlfriend, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I was still carrying a baby by my supposed first boyfriend. I was still in high school and was already over teenage relationships. He respected and understood how I felt, so we remained very, very close friends. Surprisingly he was with me all the way until the end.

On November 23, 2011, I was studying with Ash while Ms. Ketchum made us all dinner in the kitchen. All of a sudden I felt the sudden urge to pee. When I stood up a gush of water flowed from between my thighs.

"Oh my god! I think my water broke!" I announced loudly as my eyes bugged out.

"Ms. Ketchum! Her water broke!" Ash said, hollering in panic. He calmed down enough to sit me back down in the chair.

Ms. Ketchum rushed into the room. When she saw the panic in my eyes, and in Ash's, she set into motion. "Okay, Ash first you calm down and go get the overnight bag from the nursery. I'll call Dr. Neely and let her know we're on the way. Dawn, sit tight sweetheart. Are you in pain?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel good either. There is like a lot of pressure down there."

Ms. Ketchum placed the call and minutes later we were out the door. She drove swiftly but cautiously to the hospital and had Ash to go and park the car while we went directly into emergency.

I was wheeled up to the maternity ward. As soon as the elevator doors opened I saw Dr. Neely's smiling face. "Are you ready for this?" She asked.

"No." I said honestly.

"Well, that baby is coming, so you better get ready." She said excitedly. It was almost as if she was about to become a mother herself.

I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for this labor. I had been reading up on it and I had discovered that every woman had a different experience when it came to giving birth. The one thing I feared most was the pain, and I was beginning to feel contractions already.

Just as I was being escorted into the birthing center, Ash emerged from the elevators looking pretty calm...on the outside.

"Wait!" He yelled. He jogged over to us and asked, "Can I come too? I want to be here for Dawn."

Ms. Ketchum looked at me and nodded. I was sweating profusely and breathing deeply. As that moment I didn't care who came into the room with me, as long as they got me in there. I was so ready to have this baby that I didn't know what to do.

"Okay, let's rock and roll. We have to get you an epidural quickly. You're too young to take this naturally. We don't want your body to go into shock."

Dr. Neely exited the room and then came back with a couple of other people. One explained that he would be injecting the epidural and, shortly after, he produced one of the biggest needles I had ever seen in my life. I closed my eyes as it penetrated my skin.

"Ow!" I yelled angrily.

"Don't worry; you won't be able to feel anything in a minute." Ms. Ketchum said.

Moments later my entire bottom half felt numb, but I could still feel the pressure. It made me feel like I wanted to push. My body was tired, weak, and uncomfortable. Those contractions literally felt like they were ripping my butt apart, but Ash and Ms. Ketchum were right by my side. I yelled at them, and cussed them out the entire time, but they never left. They were stuck to me like glue. I appreciated them because I knew that I could have never done this alone.

After seven house and twenty minutes of labor, I was relieved to hear the screeching screams of a baby.

"It's a boy!" Dr. Neely announced. "It's a beautiful, healthy, baby boy!"

I looked up and took one look at the wrinkled, slimy baby, then collapsed from exhaustion.

I awoke a couple of hours later. I hurt everywhere, but the sight before me brought tears to my eyes. Ms. Ketchum sat at my bedside with the baby in her arms and Ash was knocked out in the corner chair.

"Is he okay?" I whispered. My throat and lips were dry. Ms. Ketchum stood and handed me the baby. She then grabbed a cup of water and put it to my lips. I gratefully sipped it.

"He is more than okay, Dawn. He's beautiful. He's your son if you want him to be." She said with tears of joy in her eyes.

I admired the baby in my arms. He was so tiny and he looked just like me. We had the exact same skin tone. He had my eyes and nose and even my hair color - except his was just a even darker blue, kind of looking close to black but you could see that it was blue. He was my baby, but I knew that I could never give him the life that he deserved. I was way too young. He was a mistake that I wasn't ready to handle. I had to think about him and do what was best for him.

"No, he is your baby, Ms. Ketchum. I want you to have him. I know that you will love him and take care of him, the same way you did for his mother." I smiled. "I trust you."

Ms. Ketchum leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "Dawn, I would like for you to be a part of my family. I know you don't have anywhere to go. You would make a great big sister to him."

"Big sister?"

Ms. Ketchum nodded. "I want to adopt you both. That way you can still be a part of his life. He will be my son, but you will be my daughter as well. We'll be a family."

Tears flowed down my face. She didn't know how much she had blessed my life in such a short period of time. I was supposed to be another teenage mother. I had made the mistake of having premarital sex at a young age. It was something that I wished I could take back, but the deed was done. The baby was here and I couldn't take it back, but I could live right from now on. I could learn from my mistakes and be a great daughter to Ms. Ketchum and a great sister to this baby.

"I would love to be his big sister. Thank you, Ms. Ketchum." I said between sobs.

"You are more than welcome, Dawn, and when you are ready, you can start calling me Mom." She said. "What do you want to name him?" She asked.

"I get to name him?" I could not believe she was giving me the privilege.

"Why not? I think you deserve to do at least that." She said.

I looked at Ash who was sleeping in the corner and smiled. He was such a great friend. He had stood by my side and kept secrets that others would have told. I knew that once I got myself together that he would be my boyfriend, but for now, he was my inspiration.

"Ash Ketchum."

Ms. Ketchum, I mean my new mom looked back at Ash and smiled. "That's a fine name."

In a couple of weeks, just as she'd promised, Ms. Ketchum held out the adoption papers for me and little Ash. I signed without hesitation on the dotted line. I was happy that she had rescued me from the perils of teenage mother hood and I vowed that I would never lose my focus again. Sex was for grown, married women and I was not that. I decided then and there to make my new mom proud and slow down to enjoy being me, an immature, carefree, teenager that was focused on things that girls my age focused on. I had learned my lesson. I just hoped that all the other young girls out there would not have to go through what I went through to know that the best form of protected sex is no sex at all.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Alright, that was the last chapter of Glitter. I hope you all enjoyed the whole story :D. I had fun writing it :). Now, I'm kind of sad that it's over : But, this happens to a lot of girls and it's actually quite sad. NO, this HAS NOT happened to me if anyone thinks that. I'm smarter than that. I'm not easy to fool when it comes to boys and their mind games. I'm not saying that every boy is like that because not all of them are :D but you just have to be careful, you know? **

**I would like to thank everyone that read and reviewed this story :D. I kept this going because of you all :D. So, I would like to thank you all for sticking with me through this whole story :D.**

**Well, again, I hope everyone enjoyed this story and again thanks to everyone who stuck with me through the entire story :D. I love you all! :D**


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